


Half of What You Think of Me

by carinatae



Category: Transformers Generation One, Transformers: Shattered Glass
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Dysfunctional Family, M/M, Medical Torture, Multi, Panic Attacks, Robot Feels, Team as Family, grimdark bullshit, secondhand abuse through sparkbonds, self-destructive behaviour, spark rape/torture, the matrix did it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2018-08-20 03:17:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8234204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carinatae/pseuds/carinatae
Summary: While trying to stop Megatron from killing Optimus Prime, the Matrix is shot instead and sends Hot Rod plummeting into an alternate dimension that would be completely different if it wasn't so horrifyingly similar. (Updates very slowly)





	1. In a Wonderland, You Can Bend the Course of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate title: tiny baby adopted by sad babies
> 
>  
> 
> SG appearances are the same as normal appearances (bots have blue eyes, cons have red eyes etc) because it's what I'm used to and I think it adds to the horror of your bffs suddenly trying to murder you 
> 
> The rape tags may also apply to future chapters too, but it shouldn't be any more explicit than this. Other tags will update as we go along as I'm not sure what I'm doing with this really

He was falling.

He thought he was falling, anyway.

 _Was_ he falling?

Everything was white, bright, nothing to distinguish up from down. There was no trace of the city, no sign of Optimus Prime.

_Optimus-!_

He'd seen Megatron reach for the gun and he'd moved before he'd thought. Turned out the old rustbucket was a lot stronger than he'd realised. If he ever survived long enough to make that book of his moves, _that_ definitely was not going in it.

He really _really_ hoped the Prime was okay because the third shot had hit him in the chest and then there'd been... An explosion? A light. And now he was falling. Maybe this was the AfterSpark.

It was okay. If him dying meant Optimus was saved then that was okay right? Surely Kup, or someone, had done _something_.

He'd just about resigned himself to being dead when the ground reached up and punched him in the face.

“Definitely falling...”

Hot Rod groaned and levered himself up on an elbow. He was... in Autobot City? There was a lot less damage, and a lot more security, than five minutes ago. How long had he been falling? Long enough for the other Autobots to have seen off the Decepticons, repaired everything and expanded while turning it into what looked like a fortress.

The Autobot symbol was painted over the main gate in a huge splash of red but as he walked closer he could see that it was faded and peeling off in places. He tried his access code, but the panel spat out an error tone and came up as invalid.

That was weird.

“ **Hey you.** ”

He turned – finally a familiar face.

“Oh, hey Hound. Did you guys change the passcode after the attack? It's not working.”

Hound approached, along with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker who were accompanying him. All three were visibly armed which was strange but hey, maybe it hadn't been that long since the attack. He couldn't have been missing for _years_ , after all.

All three of them were crowding round him now, way too close for comfort. He backed up, pressing against the door.

“And who exactly are you?”

“Uhh... it's me? Hot Rod?”

They exchanged glances over his head. The twins seized an arm each.

“We should take him to the Lord Prime.”

“Wait what? Hang on-!”

Hound punched a code into the door and they hauled him through, ignoring his protests or pleas to just ask Ultra Magnus, he would explain everything.

The route to the command centre was still the same at least, although this was the first time he'd been dragged there. Escorted while getting an earful yes, but Magnus never got physical.

They threw him forwards onto the floor and Hot Rod pushed himself up, frame freezing mid-motion as he recognised the blue legs in front of him.

“Optimus Prime sir! You're okay!”

He jumped up, smiling delightedly, and only then realised that Prime was seated on a raised throne in the middle of the room that he'd never seen before.

He was staring down at him, optics like chips of ice. He didn't look happy to see him at all, even with the battle mask.

“What is this?”

“We found him lurking outside Lord Prime. He claims to know Ultra Magnus.”

Hot Rod butted in, unable to keep quiet any longer.

“ _Yes!_ I came with Ultra Magnus, I'm one of his team.” _I tried to save your life_ , was what he didn't say. It **hurt** that Prime didn't recognise him.

Optimus looked up to the group of Autobots near Teletraan II, Hot Rod followed his gaze in confusion. Prowl was stepping forward, but Prowl wasn't stationed in the City any more, was he? His voice was flat, emotionless, door-wings held low and still.

“Ultra Magnus is still on Cybertron as per your command, Lord Prime.”

“ _Lord_ Prime?”

The Prime's cold gaze snapped back and Roddy jumped, fans whirring. He couldn't think of any reason why Ultra Magnus would have needed to return to Cybertron or why Optimus was being addressed like this, but he was getting the feeling he really should keep his mouth shut.

Luckily for him, the alarms chose that moment to go off, and everyone in the room looked over to Teletraan's main screen where Wheeljack was pulling up the security feeds.

It was another Decepticon raid on another hydro-electric plant. Only, there didn't seem to be that many of them – only two Seekers (both blue), a handful of others he didn't recognise, and a big grey guy he thought was Megatron except he had a sword instead of a fusion cannon.

“Unusually bold of them.”

Optimus stood and walked over to the screen. Sunstreaker took hold of Hot Rod again, forcing his arms up behind his back ignoring his protests. Prime ignored the slight scuffle too as if it was beneath his notice, talking to Prowl instead.

“Bring him.”

The tactician saluted, tilted his head as he murmured something into his comm.

They waited in silence and Hot Rod took the opportunity to look around properly. Prowl and Wheeljack weren't the only incongruities – Ratchet was standing nearby, watching him with an unnerving interest. And then there was the throne, and it was definitely a throne too, it even had skulls carved into the base. Something he wouldn't think twice of Megatron sitting on, and something Optimus Prime should never have.

There was a dragging and a hissing noise echoing down one of the other corridors, and Ironhide strode in, dragging someone behind him. Hot Rod reset his optics but the scene remained the same.

He had _Starscream_ bound on the floor, pulling him along by a bar clamped through his wings keeping them pinned back. But that wasn't what grabbed all of his appalled attention. Nor was it the cuffs round his wrists and ankles, the caps over his thrusters, or the thick collar round his neck that looked like it was going straight through his vocaliser.

His gaze was pinned to the Seeker's chest, tanks feeling like they were about to purge. There were bolts driven through plating and the shattered remnants of his cockpit, forcing them up and out, baring his Spark chamber obscenely wide. The light spilling out reflected off the orange floor when he knelt hunched over, arms chained behind his back.

Ironhide kicked him the last few paces to Prime, who had retaken his seat. He hauled him up onto his lap, turning his head to look at the screen in a parody of an embrace.

“I thought your comrades had learnt what happens when they steal from me, but it seems they need a reminder.”

Starscream could only respond with another hiss, the cut wires in his throat sparking, but he tried to bite at the thumb running over his cheek. Roddy could actually _see_ his Spark whirling faster with his emotions.

He'd never seen someone's Spark before, not even his own, and he couldn't tear his optics away. Kup had given them The Talk about only spark-merging with someone you know and trust, but he'd never ever mentioned anything like this.

It was only when Ratchet stood at the side of the throne and actually _reached_ for the Seeker's Spark that he managed to force himself to turn around and stare at the monitors instead, though everyone else was still watching them, not giving them any ounce of privacy. He heard an agonised hoarse shriek, the scraping of metal on metal as Starscream struggled against the fingers stabbing through his Spark.

On the screen, Hot Rod watched one of the Seekers at the dam abruptly drop out of the sky, transforming back to root and clawing at his own chestplates. The 'cons on the ground were falling back to regroup around him, the Autobots who had left the City in response to the alert were arriving now, firing on them as they retreated.

Hot Rod turned around and immediately regretted it – Ratchet had some kind of shock-stick jammed in there, Starscream's whole body was arched, face twisted in a silent scream.

_'This isn't happening.'_

He tried to speak, to move but his body failed him, his processor running sluggishly in shock. There was _no way_ this was happening. He was hallucinating, this was one of Daniel's nightmares, he was going to open his eyes and everything would be fine, Autobot High Command wouldn't be torturing a defenceless prisoner and Arcee and Springer would be there to tell him that everything was okay.

Ratchet removed the implement – the other Decepticons must have fled – and Prime shoved the Seeker back to the floor where he lay in a twitching heap.

They were all absorbed by the monitors now, no one was looking at him, even the Twins had forgotten about him it looked like. No one except Starscream, who was watching him with flickering red optics. After he'd caught his eye, he looked from Hot Rod to the open door repeatedly, holding himself perfectly still apart from his eyes. Then he dropped his gaze back down to the floor once more a submissive, broken prisoner.

Processor whirling, Hot Rod took a few cautious steps towards the open door. No one was guarding him, he could... what? Escape from the strangers that were his friends? His own Spark twisted with guilt, could he just leave Starscream like that? They were enemies but this wasn't... this whole thing was _fucked up_.

Another step back.

He wouldn't be able to carry the Decepticon – Starscream was much bigger than him – and he wasn't able to walk, never mind run.

A questing hand behind him touched the door frame, then his decision was made for him.

Ironhide spotted him and yelled, the others suddenly remembering he was there too. Before he could reach Hot Rod and grab hold of him Starscream shoved himself forwards, tripping the frontliner with his own body.

It didn't stop the others from firing and Hot Rod turned and ran.

There was more laser fire, not all of it missing, and then an explosion behind him and the floor was dropping away underneath his feet. No time to think about what he was dropping into, he twisted into alt-mode in midair, landing on all four tyres with a bounce, and shot off down a narrow, curved tunnel.

_'Sewers. Great.'_

The walls echoed with the shouts and engines of his pursuers – he couldn't think of them as Autobots – but he was pulling ahead thanks to being much smaller than Ironhide or Sunstreaker.

_'Just hope I don't hit a dead-end, and that there's somewhere that leads to the outside!'_

It was starting to get narrower, the trickle of foul-looking water running down the middle increasing to a flow. He was just thinking how disgusting it was when the floor dropped out underneath him again and he fell further down into a chamber with multiple branching exits. Thanks to the echoes, he couldn't tell how far away the others were.

The exits all looked identical, but he felt drawn to a particular one somehow, like his spark was urging him to go down that way. Maybe Primus was looking out for him?

He took it at full acceleration. He didn't know how his friends had been brainwashed but he really didn't want to know what they'd do to him if they caught him.

“Hope I don't hit anything el-”

He crashed into something – some _one!_ – and he was stopping before he realised, transforming back and hurrying over.

“Are you okay?!”

The mech on the floor groaned, rubbing his head, and Hot Rod froze. That was why he hadn't seen him, it was one of Soundwave's cassettes: the lack of height, and dark red and black paint had hidden him pretty well. He'd also just un-subspaced a gun and Hot Rod jumped back, empty hands raised, blurting out the first thing that came to his head.

“Don't shoot, I know where Starscream is!”

The cassette (he couldn't remember which one was which) didn't respond, or lower the gun, but from what Hot Rod could see of his expression below the visor he looked... scared? Then again, maybe he already knew what they'd done to Starscream, maybe that was why he was sneaking in.

“I'm not going to hurt you, okay, I'm just trying to get out before my- my friends find me.”

He took a step to the side in hopes of edging around and the cassette just bolted. For a moment he thought he was running from him, then he heard the noise too – someone was driving slowly towards them, but he couldn't see anyone.

Speeding after him, Hot Rod caught up as they swept round another junction and this time only narrowly missed crashing into Soundwave. His cassette docked immediately and Soundwave turned his visored gaze on Hot Rod. They stared at each other for a moment.

_'Is the little guy telling him what happened? Is that something they can do like that? Is Soundwave why the others have gone crazy?'_

Before he could voice any of these questions, Soundwave slowly raised a finger to his mask – his lips were covered but the meaning was clear. Then he made a beckoning motion with his other hand and Hot Rod moved cautiously closer, away from the entrance. As they waited in the dark the sound of the engine got closer, passed them and continued on down the main shaft, but there was still no one visible.

_' **Mirage**.'_

When the sound had completely faded, Soundwave moved to the entrance, checking it before leaving. After a moment of panicked hesitation, Hot Rod hurried after him.

“W-wait! Whatever you're doing to make them act like this, please stop it!”

He couldn't tell Soundwave's expression behind the mask and visor but he at least paused and turned back to look at him. He maybe sounded confused but it was hard to tell.

“Autobots: responsible for own actions.”

“B-but they're trying to kill me! Ratchet's torturing people- _Ratchet!_ If you're not doing that then why are you in Autobot City sewers.”

“Autobot actions consistent with Autobot regime.”

Soundwave was edging away now, shoulder cannon trained on him.

_'It's like **he's** scared of **me**.'_

The whole terrible day was really starting to catch up to him now and his level of patience (never very high) was far below zero. Holding himself together was getting really hard and he struggled to keep his voice from cracking or raising in volume.

“You read minds right? So you can see how _wrong_ this is.”

Soundwave looked surprised, maybe, or at least his head tilted to the side somewhat. Hot Rod braced himself for pain as a tentative finger touched his forehead, had one moment to think that this was probably his stupidest idea yet, and then there was something sliding through his mind.

It felt like what a blade going through his processor might feel, then suddenly it softened. Images were appearing in his head as if he was daydreaming but he had no control over them. They ran backwards through the series of events that had led to this until they got back to Starscream being hauled through the crowd and thrown to the floor, fingers reaching for his bared Spark.

_'Please I don't want to see that again...'_

Seemed like Soundwave must have heard the thought because they were flicking back again, through the bright whiteness and then Hot Rod was once again watching Optimus Prime fall. Shock was suffusing his frame and he realised it wasn't his – Soundwave ran that memory repeatedly, moving through different events of the battle but always coming back to Megatron pleading for his life while reaching for a weapon. Then the images spiralled out faster than he could keep up with – coming to Earth with Ultra Magnus, the pride he'd felt when he first got his badge, sharing a scavenged quarter of a cube with Springer and Arcee, hiding from Shockwave's drones-

There was an abrupt pain in his back and Hot Rod tasted energon in his mouth. Their minds had gotten so close together that when Soundwave snapped out it took a moment for him to realise that that wasn't his either. He'd lurched to the side, holding himself up with a hand on the wall, and the blade in his back was dragged up and out of his plating before being slammed into his shoulder below the mounting frame of his cannon. A voice hissed next to his audio receptor as the mech behind them hauled himself up his back using the knife as a handhold.

“Hello Sounders. Lucky me, runnin' into **you** here.”

Hot Rod backed away, eyes wide. He'd seen Jazz smile before, Jazz was always smiling, but never with a smile like _that_.

He twisted the knife round, the motion drove it further in, and an involuntary burst of static left Soundwave's vocaliser before he muted it, struggling to reach round his own bulky frame to grab at Jazz.

“Gotta say: using a kid as an undercover agent, didn't think that was your _style_. All th' more for me though, eh?”

There was a low-pitched whine as his anti-gravs activated and Soundwave shoved forwards. Hot Rod found himself being swept up against a broad flat chest and then they were barrelling down the sewer tunnel. The confined space made it a very bumpy ride, even sheltered within the Decepticon's arms, but it had the added bonus of dislodging Jazz when they hit the ceiling.

A grey light grew brighter and then they were out, accelerating upwards into an overcast sky. They weren't alone – peering over Soundwave's shoulder Hot Rod could see the distinctive red shape of Powerglide moving to intercept them, who as soon as he was in range opened fire in deadly silence.

They were going to get caught. Powerglide was built to fly and fight in the air, whereas Soundwave had the aerodynamic qualities of a brick and was struggling with extra weight and energon loss on-top of that. Right now it was certain death if what had replaced the Autobots got hold of him, or possible death if Soundwave escaped back to the other Decepticons with him.

“Assistance requested.”

For a moment he thought Soundwave was talking to him, before realising of course he must be on his comm. Before he could think to ask if he could be put down somewhere before Megatron showed up, a pair of black and purple arms suddenly grabbed onto Soundwave's shoulders and with a _vwip_ of displaced air Hot Rod was thrown into disorientating blackness before sprawling onto a floor that appeared out of nowhere.

Soundwave lay unresponsive next to him, but that wasn't what got his attention first. As soon as the room stopped spinning and his fuel-pump stopped heaving Hot Rod came to himself once more staring down the barrel of a gun. A black and purple Seeker was kneeling near them, just out of arms reach, looking as bad as he felt and with his weapons trained on him.

There was the distinctive sound of metal on metal as more Decepticons ran into the room, weapons drawn, and then Megatron was there with his fusion cannon humming in readiness. Fear, stress and pain combined with the lingering effects from the teleport, and Hot Rod blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my self-indulgent rubbish ♥ Give yourself a Rodimus-Star!


	2. What We Obtain Through Isolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITT I put the rest of the tags on that I forgot before because i'm a muppet

He came round a moment later, systems jittery from the unexpected reboot. Megatron was bent over and reaching for him and he shot backwards, shoving himself desperately over the floor with hands and feet. All he could think was the feeling of being crushed against grey plating, being used as a living shield while his saviour fell.

Something inside him snapped and he screamed up at the ceiling.

“I'm _sorry_ okay! I'm sorry it's my fault Optimus got killed, I'm sorry I messed everything up! If this is the AfterSpark can we just skip to the part where I burn in the Pit for the rest of time?!”

He curled over, arms wrapping over his head.

“I just want to go _home_...”

The Decepticons were exchanging awkward glances, weapons lowering as they shuffled their feet, waiting for Megatron to take charge of the strange direction this day was taking. He looked as dumbfounded as the rest, and latched onto the only thing in the rant that made any sense.

“Prime's dead?”

“Negative.”

Soundwave was slowly pushing himself to his feet, movement slow and pained. He was still bleeding energon from his wounds.

“Who _cares_ about Prime, did you find Starscream?!”

Thundercracker shoved his way through from where he'd been tending to Skywarp, wings hiked aggressively upwards.

“Negative.”

“What do you mean, _no?!_ Do you have _any idea how **much** this-_ ”

He faltered, abruptly remembering who exactly he was yelling at, and stepped back with lowered wings.

“Sorry, that- that was uncalled for.”

“Apology accepted. Megatron, Frenzy has information to report.”

Megatron looked up from where he was peering at the huddled ball of misery that was Hot Rod.

“It can wait until after you've been to the medbay.”

“Information regarding Starscream and Autobot prisoner.”

“Then he can tell me _in_ the medbay. For now, take _him_ to- the secondary storage still has a lock on it? There, then.”

Hot Rod watched the disappearance of his only dubious protector with trepidation as Soundwave was escorted out, arm over Megatron's shoulder to keep him on his feet. He squeaked in alarm when a pair of massive hands grabbed him round the waist and he was hauled over the shoulder of a huge Decepticon with shuttlewings, like a bag of spare parts.

Nothing he did succeeded in breaking himself free and the Decepticon carried him down a succession of cramped badly-lit identical hallways until they reached the presumed storage room which he was thrown in with an admonishment not to touch anything. He waited until the footsteps receded away before trying the door – locked of course but he had to at least try.

The rest of the room was bare, apart from some crates and boxes piled up at the far end. He sat down on one, picking at the paint on his fingertips anxiously. He hadn't realised until he checked it, but his chronometre had stopped working somehow which only added to the sense of disorientation. He tried to reach Kup, Springer, Arcee and Ultra Magnus on his commlink but no one picked up.

There was no way to tell how long he'd been in there so far, and he had no idea when or if he'd be released. He got up again to pace up and down, filled with a restless energy. Would he be executed quickly or interrogated? He should try and escape, but how?

“Is there even anywhere to escape to?”

He leant against a wall, slumping down to the floor, and rested his head on his knees, arms wrapped round his legs.

“I don't _want_ to die...”

It could have been hours, it could have been minutes, but eventually the door hissed open, sliding across to reveal another Decepticon. This one, he did know. From across the battlefield anyway, plus he'd been mentioned in a couple of Kup's old stories. Thundercracker scowled at him, arms folded.

“Move it or lose it, Autobot.”

Roddy got to his feet cautiously, walking over to him. The Seeker stepped aside, giving him room to get through the door.

“Aren't you going to stasis-cuff me or something first?”

Thundercracker snorted and shoved him down the hallway when he didn't move fast enough.

“You wanna give me an excuse to blow your head off, be my guest.”

They didn't pass anyone else, just a lot of closed doors. Hot Rod tried to remember each turn they took so he could retrace his steps but by the time they'd gone down a level he was totally lost. Aside from the initial threat Thundercracker didn't seem in any mood to talk, but he wasn't sure what to say anyway. And anything about Starscream would probably be seen as that excuse.

Coming to a set of bay doors, they halted while Thundercracker punched in a security code. The doors glided apart to reveal what must be the Decepticons' medbay. And Megatron. He tried to flinch back but Thundercracker had him by the shoulders and forced him inside. The doors closed silently behind them.

_'Should have sounded way more ominous...'_

Even though they'd brought him here, they seemed at a loss for what to do with him. Thundercracker remained silent, blocking the door by leaning against it. Soundwave was sat next to a medical berth with his cassette in his lap, gently buffing out the scrapes caused by Hot Rod smashing into him. On the berth next to him was the other one who he could just make out was missing most of a leg, but the extent of the injury was hard to tell because the view was blocked by Ravage who was crouched at the foot of the berth and staring intently at him with a predator's gaze.

They were all waiting for Megatron to start talking, but he started to pace instead, looking like he was having an internal debate. It was quickly interrupted by an angry grumble from the other side of the room. A pair of 'cons he hadn't noticed (and he wasn't sure how as they were neon green and purple) stormed over.

“If you're going to take this long about it at least let me patch the stupid brat up! He's leaking all over my floor.”

Hot Rod looked down. There was one teeny-tiny spot of energon that had dripped off of the scrapes on his back. It was already drying. Before he could protest about it, he was hauled onto the other medical berth and laid on his front, fingertips running over the scorchmarks on his backplating from the blaster bolts and the explosion. A gel paste was rubbed into the one that was bleeding while the medic kept up a muttered litany of complaints.

If he switched off his optics he could probably pretend it was Ratchet, but that thought just brought back the memory of Ratchet's fingers reaching into Starscream's chest and _twisting_. His engine hiccuped and he stilled his vents, trying to force the fear back down. He thought he was okay for a second, then Megatron sat in the chair next to his berth and even the fact that he wasn't wearing his fusion cannon didn't help because _the Slag-Maker was sitting next to him!_

“So. Soundwave informs me that you are... that you _think_ you are, or at least have reason to believe that you are, from... another dimension...”

Roddy wasn't sure he heard that right through the terrified screaming in the back of his head.

“You, what?”

“One that has certain... 'differences' to this one.”

Finished with his back, the two Constructicons helped him roll over so he could sit properly. He stared at Megatron, who looked like he didn't believe he'd just said that either.

“That's... that's ridiculous! That's the best you could come up with, are you serious?!”

“I'm aware of how this sounds, but-”

“No!”

He shot off the berth, movements erratic as he paced. None of them moved to subdue him.

“You did this! _You_ attacked Autobot City, _you_ killed Optimus Prime! And you've replaced them with clones or, or brainwashed them or something! _It's your fault!_ ”

“Hey!”

Frenzy had stood up, balanced on Soundwave's knees, and was yelling at him from the safety of his master's lap.

“You told me you saw 'Screamer! Why would any of us get them to do that?”

Hot Rod whirled on him, jabbing an accusatory thumb over his shoulder at Megatron.

“I don't know, ask _him!_ Probably cause he stopped licking your boss's aftplates!”

Megatron looked like he was about to explode and lunged to his feet, fists clenched and eyes hard.

“Do you _seriously think_ I would brainwash every single Autobot for the sole reason of tormenting my second in command?”

Hot Rod couldn't help himself: he started laughing. It was quickly taking on a hysterical pitch.

“'Do I seriously'- is that a trick question?! _**YES!**_ ”

“What _possible_ reason do you have to think that I would-”

He ex-vented heavily and slumped back into the chair, rubbing a hand down his face.

“It's something I would do, isn't it? The other me.”

At that, Thundercracker moved forwards, causing Hot Rod to take steps backwards, away from Megatron. 

“You keep going on about us attacking Autobot City. What year do you think this is?”

He stared the Seeker down, frame tensed for fight or flight. It was hard to concentrate on the question and he tried quickly rebooting his audio sensors, which seemed to help a little with the strange buzzing in his head. Out of habit he checked his chronometre and the error he got back made him feel worse, like the world was turning without him.

“It's 2005. ...isn't it?”

Soundwave put Frenzy down next to his brother and sister before standing. Roddy twitched round again, trying to keep everyone in view at the same time.

“Current Earth cycle: 2501.”

“That's... that's not...”

Megatron was on his feet again too, empty hand outstretched reassuringly. His mouth was moving, and sounds were coming out, but Hot Rod wasn't listening any more. The strange feeling was back, like everyone was speaking from down a long corridor. He felt like he couldn't vent properly, even with his fans running hard enough to rattle his frame, and he doubled over when the floor shifted and rolled beneath him. 

Someone was propping him up against their chest – when had he fallen? – and the familiar shape of an energon cube was pushed into his hand. Someone's hand ran over his helm, stroking gently, and the world slowly re-righted itself on its axis.

It took a few tries for his optics to reset properly and everything came back into focus. The medic was crouched in front of him, speaking slowly and emphasising each word.

“You are having a panic attack. I need you to nod if you can understand me.”

He managed to twitch his head a bit, grip tightening round the cube of medgrade as it threatened to shake right out of his fingers.

“Good. I need you to in-vent as I count, then ex-vent. Can you do that?”

He nodded again and tried to focus on the gently murmured numbers, and the flow of air in and out of his vents. Slowly his fans span down again as his venting eased, and he no longer had the dizzying sensation of rattling out of his own frame. The medic waited for him to readjust before raising the arm with the cube up. He sipped at it carefully, worried about purging but his desperate tanks kept it down.

“When did you last refuel?”

“I don't- this morning I think? O-or whenever that morning was?”

The fuel was warming his systems, allowing him to pay more attention to the rest of his surroundings. To his mortification, he was on the floor braced up against Soundwave's chest with both Megatron and Thundercracker hovering nervously nearby. 

“Right. You finish that now, then in two hours I want to see you again. _Got that?_ ”

That last bit was aimed upwards and Hot Rod had the closest view that anyone had probably ever had, of Megatron flinching like a scolded sparkling. 

“Yes, thank you Hook. That will be all.”

Hook took his leave then, muttering under his breath (but still loud enough that the subjects could hear) about blockheaded idiots turning his medbay into an interrogation room and is that any way to break disturbing news to someone already stressed?

“So...”

He ducked his head and pretended to be very interested in the colour of the medgrade rather than continuing this conversation.

“We need to continue this when you are fully rested. I can't in good conscious keep you locked up as you are not technically a participant in our war, however you are still an Autobot and there are many here who will react to your badge first. Nor can I release you until we're certain you don't constitute a threat.”

Roddy looked back up again, frowning.

“So I'm not a prisoner, I'm just being held against my will.”

“For now, you'll be supervised. As you've interacted with Soundwave the most, you'll be staying with him and-”

“That's not _fair!_ ”

Frenzy jumped down to the floor and stomped over, Rumble unable to physically back him up due to his own injury but yelling as well.

“Yeah! Don't _we_ get a say in this?!”

Had he been in any other circumstance he might have found it funny to watch Megatron get yelled at by someone who barely came up to his knees, but right now Hot Rod agreed with them. Hell he'd rather be in the brig.

“You _can't_ make him stay with the boss! It's _their_ fault Rumble's hurt and it's _their fault_ that- that-”

Soundwave reached for him when his voice cracked but he ran over and pushed at Hot Rod instead, trying to get him away from Soundwave, until Thundercracker scooped him up and put him back on the berth next to Rumble. Ravage swatted at the Seeker's hand and he backed off, leaving the three of them to huddle together.

Megatron sighed and he put a hand on Soundwave's shoulder.

“Are you sure you want to...?”

“Autobot must be watched. Soundwave responsible for arrival.”

“I have a name you know...”

Hot Rod pushed himself up, shrugging off lingering effects and knocking back the rest of the cube. Soundwave stood as well, brushing his hands over the backs of his symbionts reassuringly. Now he could see his back, he could see the neat patches over the wounds the knife must have made.

_'Not that I **care** or anything.'_

“It's Hot Rod. Not 'Autobot'. And don't think I won't figure out what you've done.”

Ravage hopped down and made her way to the door. Soundwave gave Rumble and Frenzy a last pet each before following her, looking back at Hot Rod with his usual lack of expression.

“Come.”

He followed, what else could he do? They left Megatron and Thundercracker with no further ceremony, to go do whatever it was warlords and psychopaths did in their spare time. Soundwave didn't speak further, which was great because even with the medgrade Roddy really didn't think he could cope with anything else right now. He didn't even bother paying attention to the way they were going and when they eventually reached Soundwave's quarters he nearly walked straight into him.

Ushered inside he looked around at what would be his 'prison' for the moment. It wasn't what he expected. He didn't know what he expected really, one of the ongoing jokes back home was that Soundwave probably recharged in a closet like the other drones, but the quiet room with muted lighting wasn't it. It looked like it had been decorated by five different people at once, but then again it probably had been. A large but minimalist berth vied with a jumble of videogame boxes near a small TV, the haphazard pile a stark contrast to the neatly stacked datapads on the shelf above.

Soundwave moved over to a desk with a terminal and screen, presumably where he did all his spying. Ravage remained where she was, staring at Hot Rod unblinkingly. There was probably a joke there somewhere, about taking things too literally, but he just couldn't right now.

“Hot Rod must return to Hook in one hour thirty-eight minutes. Berth available for rest until then.”

He should care about falling into recharge in the clutches of the Decepticons, or at least care about there only being one recharge berth if he was supposed to be staying with Soundwave for any length of time. But he'd been through too much and he was too tired, and any time spent being awake was time that the thought of being nearly five hundred years in the future was able to intrude on him.

He was out almost before he hit the padding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much doubled my word count and the only thing that happened was Roddy falling over, woo


	3. Look, If I Were You I'd Hate Me Too

_“No you don't, Megatron!”_

_“Out of the **way** Hot Rod!”_

_“ **Fall! FALL!** ”_

_Prime was greying out in front of him and he couldn't move why couldn't he move?!_

_Gunmetal hands were pinning him down and Optimus stood over him like Death, rusted chest-plates opening to release shards of a broken Matrix that fell and fell, piercing through his very spark._

_“I am **disappointed** in you, Hot Rod.”_

_I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm **so sorry-**_

The first thing his panicking boot-up systems focused on this time was the Decepticon logo in front of him and he slugged its owner right in the chest. The grip pinning him down didn't let up and he thrashed harder, kicking and punching with his free arm. A low growling tone was piercing through the disorientating fog in his processors -it didn't sound like an engine, what was that- He reset his optics forcibly until they started focusing properly and looked up a blocky white and blue arm to Soundwave's red visor. He opened his mouth to scream before remembering where he was.

“ _What_ \- you- oh.”

Soundwave watched him silently a moment more then removed the hand from his shoulder, allowing him to sit up. Holding it in front of Hot Rod's face, he held up three fingers. Hot Rod stared at them blankly before realising what he wanted.

“Oh, um, three.”

Soundwave changed the number of fingers and Hot Rod smiled and looked up at him again.

“Four. I'm fine, you don't have to- you can stop now.”

The hand lowered and Roddy looked around him. Soundwave's other hand was on Ravage's back where she was crouched staring on the edge of the bed. The growling noise was coming from _her_ , obviously unhappy at him having punched her carrier in the docks.

“Sorry, I thought you were a, um, an enemy.”

Soundwave tapped the glass under his badge with a finger. 

“Reinforced. Autobot Hot Rod was calling while in recharge.”

“It wasn't anything, just a nightmare. I'm fine.”

The lie felt pathetic even as he said it. He wasn't fine at all. But he couldn't just _admit_ that. Good thing Soundwave couldn't read- _erp_.

_'Oh man what if he's in my head **right now** , what if he knows I'm thinking about him what if-'_

He cast around for anything to say, to distract himself from falling into a loop. Fans that had only just begun to slow down from the nightmare were spinning up again as he struggled not to panic.

_'-stay calm stay calm stay calm-'_

Soundwave leant back, giving him space. Ravage let out a disapproving whuff of air but also moved away, nose up haughtily.

The lack of scrutiny was helping. Hot Rod tried to focus on venting like he had been told. Battle-protocols slowly switched back off and he came back to himself, hands tightly clasped together as he stared downwards at his lap.

It was only now he realised, looking at the worn mesh blanket over his legs, that at some point while he'd been asleep Soundwave had tucked him in.

“I don't understand why you're helping me...”

Soundwave didn't respond. With his visor and mask shielding all expression, it didn't even look like he'd heard. But Soundwave always heard everything. In truth he could barely explain it to himself never mind anyone else. He had simply reacted. Perhaps it had been because he'd been inside Hot Rod's mind at the time, or that it had been _Jazz_ specifically who had attacked, that had made his coding latch onto him as if he were a symbiont in danger. He knew it wasn't fair to his remaining symbionts to have an Autobot in their midst, even though they too knew what he'd seen in Hot Rod's memories.

But such a reason he would not say out loud, and he would not give a false one, so he remained silent.

Hot Rod didn't know any of the thoughts that flicked behind the mask, so had to just assume he was being ignored. He fidgeted awkwardly on the berth, picking at the loosened strips of paint in his finger-joints as he looked round the room, examining it in more detail.

Above the shelves that held datapads and, to his surprise, actual human books, there was another shelf that ran the length of the room. It was more of a ledge and didn't look like there was anything stored on it apart from a cushion at the end above the desk, that Ravage had removed herself to. She was still staring at him but her legs were tucked underneath her so it didn't look quite so much like she was about to pounce.

_'Huh, I guess when Soundwave's sat at the desk that puts her at head level. That's... actually that's kind of cute...'_

He quickly suppressed the thought – if Ravage knew he'd just thought that, he'd probably get disembowelled.

There was a pair of beanbag pillows by the little TV and console on the floor – they were the only other chairs in the room as Soundwave was currently sitting on his desk chair that he'd moved over to beside the berth.

The desk just held a data console, but taped to the wall above the screen was some kind of chart he couldn't make out from across the room. And for some reason there were some poles jutting out of the walls above the berth and near the little TV area. They didn't look like they had any use except to poke out an optic if you banged into one, although a few had little decorative things hanging from them that reminded him of a spiderweb made from metal, with random bits of crystal, glass and shiny beads dangling from the bottom and caught in the strands.

Well. That was the room looked at. There wasn't anything else he could distract himself with to put it off – he was going to have to do something he'd never thought possible: engage _Soundwave_ in a _conversation_.

That decided, he vented deeply out and in, nerving himself up for it. Maybe he'd be able to catch the Decepticons out and prove that this whole thing was a lie or a mass delusion.

“Um.”

That impassive blue and white face turned to look at him once more and he faltered, no idea what to say. Then he remembered something that had slipped his mind until this period of relative calm, something that P- that **not** Prowl had said.

“So, do you know why Ultra Magnus went back to Cybertron?”

“Ultra Magnus, Commander of Cybertron. Presence on Earth never recorded.”

“Oh... Wait, we retook Cybertron?! But that's-”

Elation bubbled up within him and just as quickly dissipated into foreboding. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

“That's... bad, isn't it. Don't tell me _Shockwave_ is leading some kind of resistance.”

“Shockwave, deactivated.”

It wasn't something he'd ever even dreamt of hearing, and he had to forcibly offline his vocaliser before a _“Good”_ could escape. He might have known Megatron as the ultimate evil, but it was in an abstract sense. He'd grown up on a Cybertron ruled by Shockwave, and that was an evil he was intimately acquainted with. He'd known so many people who'd died, or simply disappeared. But maybe that wasn't this Shockwave, which meant that Ultra Magnus was-

_'No. No way. He would never.'_

The denial was automatic, but he couldn't make himself believe it. He'd thought Optimus Prime would never either, and he had.

“There isn't a crazy version of me is there? Like with an evil twin moustache or something.”

There was a brief pause as Soundwave pondered this, or more likely just compiled a list.

“Designation Hot Rod not found in records of known Autobots.”

“Oh. Well good, I guess. What about anyone called Arcee? Or Springer?”

“Designations not found.”

Hot Rod nodded, huddling into a tighter ball. At least he didn't have to worry about running into horrendous doppelgängers of his two best friends.

_'Primus what if I never see them again?'_

He rested his forehelm on his knees, the golden spoiler on his back sagging down tiredly. Soundwave didn't break the silence, letting him get a grip on everything he'd been told, and only pulled him out of it when the two hours were up and they had to return to the medbay.

-

Hook bustled him onto a medical berth as soon as he entered. The other two Constructicons were setting out materials near Rumble's one. They looked like the same two from before but he wasn't sure, they kinda looked the same to him. Rumble waved at Soundwave when he came in, Frenzy was still ignoring them.

Hot Rod focused on answering the basic health questions he was being peppered with and tried not to flinch whenever Hook touched him. A half-cube of medgrade was pushed on him when they were done, probably as disgusting as the earlier one. He tried to down it without tasting it, and nearly succeeded except that Megatron entered the room suddenly and he choked on it instead.

Thankfully the warlord ignored him in favour of conferring in a little huddle with Soundwave and Hook on the other side of the room. They were speaking over comms so he couldn't hear but it was probably about him. Great medic/patient confidentiality there if so, geez. It was confirmed when Megatron sighed, straightened up as if he were about to march into a battle, and walked over.

“Walk with me.”

Hot Rod doubted it was a request, no matter how it sounded like one. They left Soundwave and his cassettes in the medbay, an angry remark from Hook drifting out after them about welding Frenzy to a chair if he didn't keep out of the way this time. Roddy followed Megatron down dim hallways – in many places the only working lighting came from their own optics as they got further from the main areas of the ship. It was some time before Megatron spoke again, but eventually he did so.

“Perhaps if you told me the exact sequence of events that brought you here, it may help in sending you back.”

Hot Rod remained quiet as he thought it over. While he was still hopeful that this was all just some trick or ridiculous prank, the Decepticon's continued uncharacteristic _niceness_ was starting to wear down his defences. It just didn't make sense for them to waste time and resources on some Autobot no-name, especially if they couldn't even power their own base fully.

In fact the only reason he could think of as to why they were going to such lengths for some unimportant soldier from the opposing faction was the same reason he knew Optimus – the _real_ Optimus – would give. Because it was the right thing to do.

“Okay. So. It was kinda just a normal day? Then you guys attacked. And you – or I guess the other you, anyway – you and Optimus were fighting and he managed to take you down.”

He paused, looking at Megatron's face but it remained neutral as he listened.

“Well, I thought, you know, that this was it. Prime was gonna defeat you, and we'd win the war and Cybertron would be okay again. Then I saw that you- that he was reaching for his handgun.”

They halted as he gathered his thoughts, standing in what had been an observation deck before the viewports had been welded over to prevent them from bursting inwards under the water pressure. Hot Rod wrapped his arms around himself, forcing himself to speak.

“I couldn't- I had to _do_ something. I... messed up... I tried to pin him down but he grabbed me instead and- and Optimus wouldn't fire with me in the way and then he got hurt instead. And there was this flash. And I came to in the same place but everything's different and all the others are just- _wrong_.”

His vocaliser was crackling and he reset it before continuing.

“I th-think I got Optimus killed and this is some kind of hell where Primus is punishing me. I wish he'd just taken the shot anyway if it meant he survived. If it had to go through me to kill Megatron, that's fine right? It's not like _I'm_ important, and I don't... it's not _fair_...”

A black hand touched his shoulder reassuringly and his vents hitched out of order in surprise. Somehow he'd managed to forget that this person willing to listen without judgement was _also_ Megatron. That was probably a bad thing, right?

“In some ways, you remind me of Starscream.”

The uncertainty of if he'd just been insulted must have shown on his face because the Decepticon chuckled.

“Starscream has this curious notion that _I_ am irreplaceable and everyone else, including my second in command and leader of my air force, are expendable. I feel that if the Prime of your world is someone who inspires such feelings in his army, he does not consider you or anyone else disposable.”

Megatron looked down, thoughts far away. 

“In 2005 I also led an attack on Autobot City. While the events you've described didn't happen, there are similarities. I did face Prime, and he too had a lethal shot.”

“Soundwave said he didn't have any records of someone with my name on Earth, or any of my friends.”

“Indeed. No Autobot interfered, I don't think any of them would have dared.”

He sighed, picking his words carefully, and finding the memories as painful as Hot Rod had.

“What you must understand, is that we were desperate. We were losing this war of attrition, with limited access to resources and the humans under the sway of the Autobots. This was our final push, each one of us was determined we would drive the Autobots from Earth or die trying. That day many of us made that sacrifice. ”

Roddy kept himself from interrupting with questions, even though that had brought so many to his mind. He could tell Megatron was struggling with it as he had, even though this battle had happened so much longer ago to everyone here but him.

“Even though I had wounded him, it wasn't enough to stop him and he fired. The next thing I remember is Soundwave carrying me from the battlefield. Starscream had ordered a retreat. I later found out the reason Prime hadn't killed me was because Starscream had seen what was happening and, much like you, had intervened. It was while he was covering our escape that they captured him.”

That revelation derailed all his other questions in favour of his mouth running off without his brain.

“But you said it's been- he's been tortured for _five hundred years?!_ ”

Megatron looked away, expression set in something similar to one of Ultra Magnus' faces. 

“I know. Every attempt we make, every offer of exchange, it makes it worse for him. They won't even accept me in his place. I suppose because, just as they haven't wiped us out yet, it amuses them not to. So we will do everything we can to return you home as soon as possible.”

“But why? You don't even know me, and and I'm pretty sure everyone else wants to kill me.”

“You'll have to excuse them for now. We've all lost friends, homes, loved ones to the Autobots, so when they look at you they don't see _you_ , just this.”

He tapped a finger against the Autobot badge on Hot Rod's chest. Hot Rod knocked it away angrily.

“You think I haven't lost anything? You think being surrounded by Decepticons is a great time for me? Whatever you think my badge means, to me it means everything I've ever fought for! And _this-_ ” he banged a fist on Megatron's chest, over the Decepticon brand. “This means a bunch of warmongering thugs that destroyed my home!”

He faltered, knowing he'd just acted in the exact way to them that he'd being yelling about them doing to him. And, that he'd just _punched Megatron_. But somehow Megatron wasn't offended by it, just nodded his head in understanding.

“If this really is a parallel world, and if you're really the good guys, how come the humans are still helping the Autobots?”

“I had thought my friend was many things – one that remained true was his way with words. We are warframes – to kill is written in our coding. It was trivial to convince the civilians of Cybertron that we were nothing more than mindless brutes, that bringing down the Senate was mere savagery rather than a strike against a corrupt regime, and that he had attempted to hold me back. And it was even easier to convince the organics of this planet of our ill intentions. Admittedly I didn't pay as much attention to the humans as I should have, until it was too late.”

As they'd continued the conversation they'd started walking again, and now Hot Rod found himself back at the medbay doors. Megatron put in the door-code, and nodded to him.

“I know it must be difficult to be surrounded by what look like your enemies, but you should try to get to know them a little better – you might find they surprise you.”

-

As they entered the medbay it was quickly apparent that Hook had made good on his threats and put Frenzy in stasis too. Hot Rod didn't blame him for not managing to stay calm – he wasn't managing it himself and he didn't have to watch someone rebuild his brother's leg. Soundwave was watching unobtrusively, as still and silent as to not be there at all. And Ravage was sat at her carrier's feet. She didn't look over but an ear did twitch in their direction when the door shut.

Megatron walked softly over to speak quietly with Soundwave, leaving Roddy hovering awkwardly by the door. He couldn't exactly just leave the room without causing some kind of security panic, but being in medbays always made him feel uncomfortable.

_'I wonder why I've only seen three at a time, aren't they a combiner team or something? Maybe the rest are in the back?'_

_Or dead_ , his brain helpfully supplied, still going over what Megatron had said of this reality.

_'I wonder how many Decepticons are still alive. Have I met them all already?'_

He was staring at the ground as he thought, not really paying attention to anything, so when Ravage suddenly appeared in his visual feed he jumped. Megatron was sat by Soundwave now, obviously intending to wait with him, but he called over an explanation, causing a _shh!_ from one of the Constructicons.

“Ravage will take you to the common room while you wait.”

Eager to get out of the medbay he nodded and left with her, and didn't realise until after that 'common room' implied the presence of other Decepticons and he was now without a protector.

“I er, don't suppose you can talk? Or would rather head back to Soundwave's room instead anyway?”

She didn't respond at all and continued padding down the dim hallways, meaning he had to hurry to keep up. On the plus side he thought he could recognise the medbay corridor at least, even if he didn't know how to get back to it.

But still it had been a really long, confusing, terrifying day, and the nap he'd managed in the middle hadn't helped that much. Or at all, to be honest. He really wasn't up for more shouting and shooting right now, so he tried again.

“Hey so I guess you probably still understand me even if you can't talk? I am so up for just sitting in your boss's room instead, so if we could just-”

Ravage looked around and growled.

“Taking that as a no then.”

They'd reached another set of bay doors now, that opened automatically when it detected their movement. Hot Rod braced himself for running from the entire Decepticon army at that point, but all that suddenly dropped into 'not important' when he say what was on a table by the wall on the opposite side of the door.

“No way, you guys have a puppy!”

He was halfway across the room to go look at it before he registered that there were other people sat at that table, and two-thirds before he realised they were the three Seekers. Although it was hard to see the other two behind Thundercracker who had surged to his feet, bristling.

“You touch my dog, Autobot, I'll rip off your fragging arms.”

His words were underscored by the loud rumbling of his powerful flight-engines, larger than most aerials because of his thicker, reinforced plating. That also served to make him look bigger and bulkier than Starscream had.

Hot Rod was already skidding to a halt when Ravage bounded between them with her own growl. She might not like that Soundwave was responsible for an Autobot now, but that didn't mean she would shirk her duties. It might have escalated beyond snarling, but Skywarp reached over and knocked on Thundercracker's wing, the only bit he could reach from where he was sat.

“TC, you're scaring the bitlet.”

He scowled and twitched his wing out of reach, but he did sit down again, fingers curved round the little dog in a protective wall. That was mirrored, Hot Rod realised, in the way the three were sat. Skywarp was sat closest to the wall of the nook, Thundercracker on the outside, and the different-looking Seeker pressed between them. It was a defensive huddle.

The blue Seeker with the weird head hadn't reacted at all to what had happened, even though it was impossible for him not to have noticed. He just stared down into an untouched cube of energon. He was the only one who wasn't staring though – there weren't a lot of others around but the nearly-a-spat had attracted everyone's attention. Hot Rod recognised the big shuttle-y guy that had hauled him off earlier sat by himself on the far side of the room. In fact apart from the three Seekers, they were all sat on their own, scattered about the empty tables.

A sharp look from Thundercracker was enough for everyone to go back to minding their own business. Hot Rod figured it would be smart for him to do the same but, well, give them a chance, Megatron had said. Plus he wanted to sit down but didn't want to sit by himself. And he was still curious about the dog.

He slid into the empty seat on the opposite side of the table, Ravage exchanged a 'what is this guy on' glance with Thundercracker before hopping up beside the apparently suicidal speedster. Now sitting across from them, he noticed the scuffs and scratches in the paint of their chest-plating and the glass of their cockpits. It made him recall seeing what must have been Thundercracker clawing at himself while Starscream had been- he shuddered at the memory.

“Does... does it hurt every time?”

No one answered. 

_'Stupid question. Stupid Roddy. What am even I doing?'_

Hot Rod sighed and slumped over, forehead against the tabletop.

“Sorry. Having a strange day.”

Something wet pressed against his face-plates and he opened an optic in confusion. The little dog licked him again, tail wagging.

“Aww. Someone has a new friend.”

Skywarp was smiling at him but it looked like a genuine smile which was not something that he felt Skywarp could do. Thundercracker just huffed, wings flicking. The gesture probably meant something, but Roddy didn't understand wing body-language even though his spoiler had similar but more limited articulation. He looked a little less grumpy anyway, though his voice was gruff.

“'Warp, shut it. Dirge, you still need to refuel.”

The Seeker in the middle blinked as his arm was jostled, not unkindly, as if he had only just noticed he was still holding a cube. He didn't drink it though, or say anything in response. Hot Rod wanted to know what was up with that but it was pretty obvious that question wouldn't be welcome either. And the dog was still licking his face too. He'd only ever seen them on human TV and in Daniel's old picture-books before, so it was nice to know they were as cute in reality too.

“What's his name?”

“She's called Buster.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks for not beating me to death with my own arms or whatever. M'gonna recharge for a bit.”

Optics shuttered, he remained leaning over the table. One of the Seekers laughed, probably Skywarp.

“Megs weren't lying, he really don't act like an Autobot.”

His worn out frame slid over into recharge before he could think of a witty response.

-

Something jostled him and he was vaguely aware he was being carried, before he was set down on something soft. A warmth covered him and he curled into it and relaxed again, going back to sleep. Must've stayed up too late with Springs and 'Cee, Kup hadn't had to carry them to berth since, like, _forever_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> under the grump TC's a big ol' motherhen
> 
> I know this is g1 not the comics but couldn't not put Buster in :3 some other comic stuff might show up later cause I like them


	4. Does It Almost Feel Like You've Been Here Before?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some offscreen/implied nastiness near the end fyi

This time he woke up to a pressure on his chest. Hot Rod jolted upwards and shoved at the weight desperately, too scared to online his optics just in case it was Optimus' empty frame. He did look when his palm smacked into someone's nose. The room was dark apart from the glow of a red visor in front of him and now his own blue optics. Even before his systems had adjusted to the lack of lighting he could hear a low litany of swearing – whichever cassette he'd just shoved was rubbing at his face tenderly.

“You're... Frenzy, right? What the hell?”

“Keep your voice down, Autodork! _Geez_.”

Just for good measure, Frenzy punched him as well. Roddy tried to lift an arm to retaliate but it was trapped under something. Looking down, he could make out what must be Rumble curled on the beside him and wrapped round his arm. When he tried to pull his arm free, the cassette just clung tighter.

“...mnn _nrrr_...s'not time t'get up y't boss...”

_'Oh boy.'_

Roddy flopped back down with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. Frenzy moved back up from his legs onto his chest and looked down at him. He tensed up, he couldn't help it. Sure Rumble and Frenzy were only the size of a human but that didn't mean they weren't _dangerous_.

After a bit of a stand-off, he raised his other arm, intending to try and pry Rumble off of him, but the sudden movement made Frenzy jump and pull a weapon on him. They both froze, ready for the other to try something, until the absolute absurdity of the situation got too big for Hot Rod to ignore and he snorted in laughter. Frenzy scowled.

“What's so funny?!”

“It's you, it's this whole... _thing_.”

He hurried to explain before the cassette went from offended to shooting.

“You're not threatening me because you're evil, or because I'm an Autobot and you're a Decepticon. You're threatening me because you're _scared_ of me and you're scared of what I'll do. But the thing is I'm terrified of all of you too. We're scared of each other.”

He dropped his arm down, resting over his forehelm.

“It's just... so stupid it's funny, you know?”

“I ain't scared of you! _Urgh_ , can't believe Soundwave has to keep you in here.”

He did once more subspace his weapon though, but that didn't stop him from giving Roddy's chestplate a petulant kick as he got off and flung himself onto one of the beanbags on the floor.

“You know, I'm not a massive fan of being kidnapped by people who hate me, either.”

“Shut up.”

Roddy just vented for a bit while he stared upwards, not really paying attention to his visual feed, then retried prying his arm free without waking Rumble up. It was probably for the best to stay quiet and not accidentally provoke the violent little minicon further, so naturally his curiosity got the better of him again.

“So... five hundred years, huh?”

There was a muffled groan as Frenzy buried his head in the cushion, refusing to turn around.

“I'm sorry I ran you over, by the way, but what _were_ you guys doing there? Seems like a weird coincidence.”

“Hah, like I'm gonna just _tell_ you. You're probably a spy anyway, just shut up.”

The room lapsed into silence again, save for a triumphant hiss as Hot Rod managed to slide his arm out from Rumble's frame and sit up. Rumble immediately rolled into the newly created space and sprawled out, tiny engine ticking away in his sleep. Hot Rod carefully clambered over him and off of the berth, stretching his arms and spoiler upwards and out from where they'd been cramped.

He looked at the closed door, then to Frenzy and back. He didn't doubt that it was locked, and that any attempt to leave would be stopped and reported. The downside of being Soundwave's personal captive, even if he wasn't in a cell, was that the spymaster didn't need to be in the same room, or check security cameras, to watch him.

That didn't stop him from getting a closer look at the room itself, and he wandered over to the shelves, looking at the human books that had caught his eye earlier. He didn't dare touch them, so he only had the spines to look at but they all looked pretty old with torn and cracked covers, and from the titles not that many were in English, the only Earth language he knew. There was a lot more books than datapads too, and even a few human-datapads being propped up by a small box with the glyphs 'Swear Jar' written on it in a fastidiously neat hand – probably Soundwave's. He tapped at the button at the bottom of the screen on one of the pads experimentally but it didn't turn on.

Frenzy rolled over to glare at him and he backed off. Poking at things that might have sensitive data on, not the best way to show he wasn't spying.

_'It's more plausible than this dimension thing, Primus knows **I** don't believe that.'_

Instead he sat on the desk chair, made sure he wasn't facing the computer terminal either, and stared back at his 'roommate'. It was strange though, that Frenzy and Soundwave had just happened to be in the tunnel he'd picked at random... Except that, he realised, it hadn't been random.

_'I felt like I needed to go that way... Is that connected to what they were doing? Maybe if I try asking differently.'_

“Hey, I was wondering, why did you guys just leave Starscream there anyway? Can't Skywarp, you know, teleport?”

“Oh _wow_ , thanks, why didn't _I_ think of that?! Guess us dumb ol' Decepticons needed an Autobot to tell us the obvious- _oh wait_ that's what we were doing, _you **murdering** piece of **slag!**_ ”

Rumble bolted upright on the berth as Frenzy flung himself at Hot Rod. Luckily he was too distraught to get in more than a couple of good hits before Roddy managed to get him at arms length and his brother stumbled over to try and calm him down.

His systems were still recalibrating from the integration of his new leg, so he nearly fell when he misjudged the distance from the floor. Automatically, Hot Rod put out his other arm to catch him but Rumble shied away from his hand and grabbed onto Frenzy's legs instead. All that achieved was both cassettes falling to the floor instead, but Rumble kept his arms wrapped round his brother and prevented him from leaping up again. Roddy backed off instead, moving nearer to the door.

After a moment more of struggling, Frenzy rolled over instead and buried his head against Rumble's shoulder and neck, plating trembling. Flat on the floor under him, Rumble rubbed his back as he stared upwards, visor distant as he waded through alerts, warnings, notifications and convincing Soundwave over comms that everything was fine, no really how are you?

Calmed down again, Frenzy added his own reassurances that they were handling it both through the comm and over the spark-bond they shared with their carrier and siblings. Hot Rod sat back down as well, leant against the door, and watched them guiltily. He hadn't meant to provoke such an extreme reaction, and he itched at his wrist-joint without realising, anxiety picking back up.

“Hey, I, um. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that you guys weren't doing everything, I just- I don't really know a lot about, well, wherever I am right now.”

Surprisingly it was Frenzy who answered, voice muffled round his twin.

“We woulda gotten him out if it hadn't been for _you_. You led J- _them_ right onto us.”

Rumble held him tighter, and glared at Hot Rod for both of them.

“Skywarp can't warp if he don' know where he's goin'. We get in, tell the Boss, Boss tells 'Warp and _wham_ , he gets Starscream out.”

Roddy just shook his head, thinking of when he'd seen Starscream. There hadn't been a point, even with many of the Autobots absent to deal with the raid they'd pulled as a distraction, where Starscream had been left unattended, or even just not in physical contact with one of them. It wouldn't have worked that day, even if Hot Rod himself hadn't been there, but on the other hand if he hadn't gotten caught up in the rescue attempt, who knows what would have happened to him by now.

He decided not to mention that, fearful that he'd jam his foot in it again. No point in making things worse just because he didn't have all the facts. It shouldn't even matter, this place that he was in was not his world, these were not his friends. But his mind kept skipping back to Starscream crumpled on the floor and still trying to help a total stranger, and he wanted to help him back.

_'I at least need to learn enough of what happened so I don't upset people every time I open my mouth.'_

Before he could voice this, Rumble sighed in exaggerated aggravation and started to nudge Frenzy off of himself. Frenzy swatted at his hands and rolled over, letting him get up. Neither looked happy about it, but Rumble looked over at Hot Rod, mouth turned down in a frown.

“They want you in the command centre.”

-

Rumble and Frenzy flanked him as they went down dim corridors, maybe they were hoping he'd make a break for it and give them an opportunity to hurt him, like Thundercracker had threatened him with the first time they'd met. Hot Rod wasn't keen on more pain though, and there still wasn't anywhere he could run to, if he even knew where the exit was. It was hard to imagine though, that all of Earth was this strange bizarro place – surely somewhere there were Autobots who weren't crazy. He tried his comm again and got the same invalid signal as every other time he'd tried since landing in the wrong Autobot City.

Neither cassette wanted to talk, but he didn't blame them. He did wonder why Soundwave's room was so far away from this command room though. They passed what looked like elevator doors, presumably without energy to run them, and turned down another hallway that gradually started to ramp upwards.

It was when they were about halfway up that the cassette in front – Rumble – paused and turned back to him. 

“Oh, you might wanna duck.”

“What?”

But they were both already transformed, a little cassette tape falling flat to the floor on either side. Confused, Hot Rod bent over to pick one up, idly wondering as he did so why the background growl of the ship's power generator seemed to be getting louder.

_'...Wait, that's a-'_

Something rammed into his legs, knocking him head over heels. A yellow blur shot past inches from his face, then something else fell on him. There was the sound of t-cogs whirring and then Rumble was peering down at him worriedly.

“I uh, _did_ say duck.”

A yellow speed-frame came into view behind Rumble's head, unabashedly staring as well.

“Ooh, is this that Autobot?”

The weight on his back disappeared and Hot Rod was yanked up on his feet and dusted off by another speedster, the one that had crashed into him.

“Is he okay? He looks okay. Hey it's Rumble!”

“Look at you, you've got a leg again!”

Hot Rod just stared, no idea how to react to such aggressive good cheer. They didn't act like Decepticons, but they had the badge, but they were cars... Maybe he had concussion? That was a thing he could get, right?

“What- who are you?”

Rumble puffed up self-importantly, trying to make himself look taller.

“This is Wildrider and Drag Strip. They're my creations.”

He deflated a little on seeing Hot Rod's disbelieving stare, and waved a hand dismissively.

“Ehh, Soundwave and Megatron helped too...”

Frenzy shoved him, more good-naturedly than he had otherwise acted so far. 

“ _Sure_. Come on, ain't on a nature walk.”

It was easier said than done though, to pry the pair of Stunticons off of their Autobot. Hot Rod was floundering under their prodding, feeling as though the world had tilted without him again. He managed to get his back to the wall, preventing any further grabbing of his spoiler which was more sensitive than it looked.

“How fast is your alt-mode? We can race if you want.”

“We haven't raced a new person in _forever_.”

“Er, that's...”

He almost accepted before remembering who he was talking to. Then he remembered that the last person he'd raced had been Arcee and Blurr, and his spark twisted guiltily. He should be trying to get back to his friends, not enjoying himself. Hot Rod ducked around them, moving onto the other side of Rumble and Frenzy and tried not to look like he was hiding behind a pair of minicons. Thankfully Rumble took charge.

“Sorry guys, the boss wants him. I'll catch up with you later, yeah?”

“Sure sure, no worries!”

Drag Strip waved them away, already itching to be off with his engine revving. Wildrider grabbed onto his arm to stop him from transforming before he was ready and stealing the lead, and called back as the other three started to resume their way to the command centre.

“Hey, Autobot.”

Hot Rod looked back at them, to find that the ferrari's expression had dropped from almost manic glee to a threatening scowl.

“You do anything to my creators, I know where you live.”

He pointed a pair of fingers at his own optics, then to Hot Rod, then back again, then he abruptly transformed and shot off down the ramp and round the corner, followed closely behind by Drag Strip and accusations of cheating.

When he turned back, Frenzy had his arms crossed over his chest, foot tapping against the floor. Rumble was a few steps further along but he'd turned back to watch too. He looked Hot Rod up and down, arm rapidly transforming to a piledriver and back.

“Same from the rest of us, Autodork.”

Roddy sighed, walking alongside them again.

“My name is Hot Rod. And I'm not sure what you all expect I can do to Megatron, but whatever.”

_'Not like it went well the first time.'_

He rubbed at a paint scuff on the corner of his arm in annoyance.

“Do they normally race indoors like that? It seems dangerous.” _'And painful.'_

“Duh, where else they gonna drive?”

“Leave them alone, they're just kids.”

Hot Rod dropped the argument, tired of the antagonistic behaviour. Its return only highlighted the brief moment just before when they had actually been friendly. Instead he mulled over the English word Rumble had used. He knew what it meant, a human in the same development stage as Danny, but not why the human term had been used. Did the two racers not come from Vector Sigma? Or was he overanalysing what might just be an affectionate nickname that Decepticons in this reality used. Kup had started calling _him_ kid sometimes, mostly when he was annoyed.

No time to just ask – he nearly walked into the cassettes before realising they'd stopped at another door. It opened before he could mentally prepare himself for what might be a belated interrogation and he was ushered through.

-

Megatron and Soundwave were sat waiting for them at a round table in the centre of the room. The other seats were empty but Thundercracker was also present, stood leaning against the edge of the table. He quickly checked the table and floor near the flyer, but sadly Buster wasn't present.

Roddy took a seat opposite them, but he wasn't the first person to get their attention.

“Rumble, orders given for berth rest.”

“Awh, but boss, I feel fine! I've been lying down for _ages!_ ”

Soundwave gave this due consideration, then held out an arm.

“Orders still given.”

Rumble sighed theatrically, but trooped over so Soundwave could scoop him up onto his lap and examine his new limb for any signs of strain. Once it had been inspected to his satisfaction and found to be integrating with no problems, Soundwave pulled him into a tight embrace, hand running over his head. Rumble struggled, whine somewhat muffled.

“Sound _waaave_ , not in front of the _Autobot!_ ”

Frenzy snickered at his brother's misfortune, right up until he was also picked up and subjected to the hug, Soundwave being an equal opportunity source of embarrassment.

They were deposited back by the doorway and given a final admonishment to behave before they both raced off, and Soundwave returned to the meeting. Roddy quickly wiped the grin off of his face and tried to look attentive.

“So, as I have said, we intend to get your back to your own world,” Megatron started. “So perhaps if you were to go over exactly what happened to bring you here, we can see if it's possible to duplicate.”

Thinking back on it was hard and brought back a flood of emotions and self-doubt. He tried to give as much detail as possible, and so by the time he had finished his vents were hitching again. Thankfully the others waited for him to get control of himself before starting to question him.

“It seems as though it's the blow to the chest that triggers the flash, and the flash that sent you here, somehow.”

Megatron tapped a finger against the table as he thought. Thundercracker watched him, arms folded over his cracked cockpit.

“Maybe, but you've shot Prime multiple times and this has never happened. What makes him different?”

Hot Rod shrugged, spoiler-tips twitching nervously. He tried to suppress the involuntary movement when the Seeker's eyes flicked to them briefly.

“I don't know, maybe my Optimus is different to this one? Even more different, I guess.”

Thundercracker pushed away from the table and began pacing, looking at Megatron inquiringly then continuing when the warlord remained silent.

“Astrotrain cornered me last night with another theory. It's possible, and more believable, that you're a double agent or spy.”

“Well it's _even more_ believable that you lot are lying!”

It was getting more than annoying now that they all just expected him to believe they were the good guys, while at the same time accusing him of being the same as the alternate Autobots. Soundwave interjected before Thundercracker could react further than growling.

“Memories seen, considered truth. Life history, extensive.”

“They could be implanted! He might not even know until the coding triggers – we need to at least _consider_ that this could be another ploy! _Especially_ after- Sky”

When it happened, it happened instantaneously and with no warning.

One moment Thundercracker was gesturing as his voice rose, the next he was crashing to his knees and screaming, one arm held protectively over his face while the other blindly lashed out as if there was some physical attacker there he could force away.

Megatron and Soundwave were on their feet in moments, Soundwave sent a burst of alerts through one of the command consoles while Megatron went to Thundercracker, shoving an errant chair out of the way so the Seeker wouldn't hurt himself on it as he thrashed, without trying to restrain him at all. Hot Rod just watched, frozen. He didn't know what to do or how to help, so he just stayed out of the way.

“ _Eyes!_ My- _they're **in** his **eyes!**_ ”

His engine was roaring as he hunched over, turbines running full-tilt. Megatron put his hands on his shoulders, trying to anchor him. Thundercracker's vocaliser blurted static and his hands dropped, pushing at his chest-plating that was involuntarily starting to open thanks to the forced pleasure being pushed through the trine's spark-bond. Megatron moved to the side, giving him space, but kept a hand on his shoulder.

“Skywarp, sedated. Hook, incoming.”

As Soundwave approached from behind, his jet turbines snarled again.

“ _Don't!_ I can't leave him _alone_ with them.”

Hook and Mixmaster burst in, hurrying to him as well. He fought them when they got near, struggling in-between spasms. To Hot Rod, who was watching in horror, it looked like he'd stopped recognising them as the panic and the pain rose. But it was a frequent enough occurrence that they were able to swiftly pin him and knock him into stasis where he could then be safely carried to the medbay.

Finally, when the others had filtered out again, Megatron allowed himself to sink back down into a chair, helm resting on his hands as his shoulders sagged. Soundwave moved over, rubbing gently over the back of his neck and shoulders.

“What do you suppose he meant, about his eyes?”

“Severity of attacks, increasing. Coincidence, unlikely.”

“I am _aware_ of that!”

Megatron shrugged off the soothing fingers, a fist slamming onto the tabletop as he shot back to his feet.

“What would you have me _do_ , Soundwave? Prostrate myself in front of him again? They won't-”

The sudden bang made Hot Rod startle, nerves already strung taught, and a small squeak escaped him. The gaze of both Decepticons snapped onto him and Soundwave abruptly stepped backwards, putting a professional distance between himself and Megatron again. Roddy got the distinct impression that his presence in the room had completely slipped their minds.

“I- I'm sorry! I think this is because of me? He tried to stop them from chasing me, so...”

Megatron shook his head and slowly retook his seat.

“They'd do it regardless.”

He sighed, scraping a hand over his helm tiredly.

“Truthfully I don't know how to get you back. If Shockwave were here... The only one we have left with scientific training is Starscream but...”

“Options, limited by circumstances.”

Soundwave touched a finger to his leader's back comfortingly. But over the course of the last few hours, their behaviour had switched from appearing wildly out of character to just a brief thought spared to wonder if they were involved with each other. Instead, Hot Rod focused on his new decision, on the way his spark tugged in the certainty that this was what he needed to do. He steadied himself, spoiler flicked up in determination, and looked up at both of them.

“I want to help. I mean, I still want to go home but, it seems like I'm kinda stuck here and I can't just do nothing.”

Soundwave and Megatron shared a look before Megatron spoke. He sounded almost hesitant.

“It's unnecessary – we wont force you to fight against your comrades.”

“They are **NOT-** these aren't my friends. They might look like them but they're not _real_ Autobots and they're not _right_ , and they _need to be **stopped**!_ ”

Again Megatron hesitated, looked on the verge of saying something then changed his mind. Perhaps it was seeing how adamant the little speedster looked, but eventually he nodded, a rare smile creasing his face.

“Then if a Decepticon should give you any trouble, tell them I am your sponsor.”

He stood and offered his hand. Roddy reached out cautiously to take it, and Megatron clasped his forearm in a warrior's embrace.

“I hope you will show us all exactly just how an Autobot ought to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to imagine in this that when Rumble stole all the cars they made the Stunticons out of, Soundwave went back and paid for them.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for every kudos and bookmark and comment - even if I don't reply they literally make my day ♥
> 
> oh yes I also have [a tumblr](https://carinatae.tumblr.com/) I am trying to use more and be social and stuff this year if anyone's interested :3


	5. Swing My Heart Across The Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /jams in the OTP and rolls away

The nightmares continued, only now as well as Optimus, Starscream was often there too, his open chest pressing up against Hot Rod's back as they dragged him downwards.

But, no matter what time he woke up panicking, Soundwave was always there to bring him out of it. It would have been creepy except he figured it was the telepathy or whatever, that let Soundwave know.

He was still sleeping in the Communications Officer's berth, often sharing with Rumble and Frenzy, but he wasn't sure where Soundwave was sleeping, or if he slept. And he didn't want to bring it up out of guilt of moving into an empty room who's previous owner had probably been killed by the Autobots. But Soundwave never complained or mentioned it either, so Roddy was content to pretend it wasn't a problem for the moment.

The depth that Soundwave had started to care for him in such a short time became apparent to both of them a few days later.

He'd been sat on the berth, flicking through one of the human books, while Soundwave worked at the console on the other side of the room. They were the only ones in the room, the cassettes off either amusing themselves elsewhere in the ship or on-shift in the command room.

Hot Rod was picking at the peeling paint strips left on his hands as he read, not really aware that he was doing it – it was just something he did when anxious or bored. He was definitely unaware that Soundwave had started watching him, and he startled badly when his hand was abruptly grabbed and tugged upwards so that Soundwave could focus on it.

Roddy squeaked and tried to yank his hand away, but Soundwave tightened his grip. He didn't let go until he got a concerned ping from Ravage, and a pair of indignant ones from the twins, and realised he'd just tried to push down the bond _at Hot Rod_ as if he had been an unruly symbiont. His grip slackened from the shock and Hot Rod jerked his hand to his chest, tucked up protectively.

Soundwave hesitated, then backed off a step or two. His personal space restored, Ruddy uncurled again, though he was still a little wide-eyed.

“Apologies. This, not-”

He faltered, then tried again.

“Soundwave, has spare paint. If Hot Rod wishes.”

Roddy stared a moment more, then cautiously nodded his head.

“Er. If you don't mind? It's not that big of a deal, really.”

Soundwave turned away and retrieved a box of detailing equipment from a drawer. He lowered himself down to his knees and held out his hand patiently. Roddy looked down at him from where he was sat on the edge of the berth, then put his hand in Soundwave's. He'd meant that he could do it himself, but it felt nice that someone else cared to give him so much attention.

He watched as Soundwave began examining each finger, removing the last of the strips around the joints before reapplying fresh paint with practised ease. Slowly he started to relax again, reassured by the attention. The silence was companionable but there was something he'd been wondering.

“Can I ask you something?”

Soundwave looked up, watching him, then nodded.

“Why did you join the Decepticons? Megatron said something about treatment of warframes, but you're not a warframe.”

If his expression changed it was impossible to tell. Soundwave looked down again as he painted. 

“Hot Rod, knows of Functionalism?”

“Um, I know it's something people used to do ages ago, before the war. Kup said it was stupid?”

That hadn't been the precise word used, but Hot Rod was pretty sure the swearing wouldn't be appreciated. Soundwave turned his hand over, cleaning out the ridges in his palm.

“Soundwave, disposable-class. Cassetticons considered drones, mechanimals. Owner, treated poorly. Megatron, offered freedom.”

“Oh. I'm sorry.”

Soundwave squeezed his hand reassuringly then reached to take the other one.

“Apology, unnecessary. Hot Rod, not responsible.”

“I know but, that wasn't right! Optimus - _my_ Optimus- he was against it too. Everyone should be free, that's what we were fighting for!”

Soundwave's head ducked to the side slightly, a motion he'd seen him make when watching his cassettes – maybe behind the mask and visor he was smiling? Still, Hot Rod felt a little embarrassment at his own outburst, and didn't want to bring up any bad memories of Soundwave's past, so he searched for a safe change of topic. His gaze fell on the box of paints, each bottle neatly arranged inside. Purple of course, blues, reds, black and white, and the yellow that Soundwave was using at the moment on his hands.

They all corresponded to the colours of Soundwave and his symbionts, apart from the yellow which seemed strangely convenient for him to happen to have. The question was out before he realised the most likely answer.

“How come you have so much yellow?”

Soundwave's movements halted immediately. In the silence Roddy actually heard his vents hitch.

“I'm sorry, I didn't think, I-”

Another gentle squeeze to his hand cut him off mid-flow, though Soundwave did not look up.

“Hot Rod, not responsible.”

“But I shouldn't have _asked_ , I keep upsetting everyone and I just want to _help!_ ”

Miserably he tried to pull his hands away again, but Soundwave wouldn't let him. Only after he'd finished did he release the hand, then started to tidy away the paints and equipment.

Hot Rod watched him guiltily, fingers curled up into fists.

_'I wish I was back home...'_

Soundwave turned back round to him, and held out his hand again. Confused, Roddy took it and was gently tugged to his feet.

“Come?”

He led him out again, walking to a part of the ship that Hot Rod had not been before and opening a door.

The room was dark as they entered, until Soundwave palmed the lightswitch. It revealed a bare room, empty except for the Decepticon emblem painted on the far wall and, now that he looked closer, names marked into the wall under and around it. Hot Rod walked closer, skimming fingertips over the names. They'd been carved or scratched directly into the wall, some in neat lists, some in random places. It wasn't until he started recognising some Autobot names scattered around that he realised that these were the names of the dead.

The handwriting varied throughout – some looked like they could just be lists of battlefield casualties for both sides, others the glyphs were almost illegible from the grief of the writer. _'Shockwave'_ was there near the top, written in broad sprawling glyphs. The cross-bar in the glyphs for _'Blitzwing'_ had been cut so deeply it looked like the wall had been stabbed. The few Autobot names scattered about had probably been carved by a pre-war friend or teammate.

A lot of these deaths must have happened on Cybertron – he thought he recognised some of them from Ultra Magnus' history lessons. Someone had put a list near the corner of the wall titled _'Kalis'_ which he knew had been the location of an Autobot victory in his world. Perhaps here the Decepticons had won, as next to the long lines of tally marks -Autobot kills, he realised- under the title there was only one Decepticon name listed. Whoever _'Sixshot'_ had been, he must have been unlucky to be the only 'Con casualty there.

“Yellow, Buzzsaw's preference.”

He looked over to where Soundwave stood, blue fingertips tracing lightly over a pair of names, written low down on the wall and in such a way that they overlapped each other.

_'Oh.'_

There wasn't much he could say, really. No matter how much he wanted to help, he couldn't bring back the dead. But...

Hot Rod stepped next to him and looked down at the names – Buzzsaw and Laserbeak. He put a hand on Soundwave's arm gently, and though he didn't really know how Soundwave's telepathy worked exactly, he tried to fill his processors with thoughts and feelings of conviction, determination and belief as he squeezed the arm reassuringly.

“Hey. I know it's not much but, I'll do what I can to fight them too. We'll win this.”

Soundwave looked down at his arm, then slowly touched a finger to the back of Hot Rod's hand.

-

Despite that though, the order to attack the Autobots again didn't come. They'd spent a lot of energy in the last attempt, and were conserving it until what was left of Decepticon High Command deemed it long enough that the Autobots would hopefully be caught off-guard. 

It didn't seem like a great plan to Hot Rod, who hadn't thought any of them had been caught off-guard at all when he'd been in Autobot City. But apparently this was the standard plan, as he was informed by the Cassetticons – the last raid and rescue attempt before this one, in which Rumble had lost a leg, had been over two decades ago. So while the inaction chafed at him, Hot Rod tried to adjust to life on the _Victory_ , extreme rationing, sludge-tasting energon, boredom and all.

But not everyone was happy with the situation still. The big shuttle - Astrotrain - refused to acknowledge him at all, and if they happened to pass him in the corridor to the common-room, he would barge past rather than moving over to the side, often knocking Hot Rod into the wall with his larger mass and continuing on, ignoring the cassette twin's catcalls.

“Hey! You wanna start something?”

“Yeah, keep walking ya Astroturkey!”

They often looked more offended than Hot Rod himself felt at times, but he was Soundwave's prisoner and so he was also _their_ prisoner, and they protected what was theirs.

Even though the Seekers seemed to like him (or at least Skywarp did: Thundercracker only acknowledged him when Buster did, and he wasn’t entirely sure Dirge knew he existed), he hardly saw any of them apart from sometimes in the common room. But the cassette twins were generally happy to follow him around on Soundwave’s orders and they were pretty nice now he got to know them.

Now he wasn’t worrying about Rumble, Frenzy was a lot more chill, and usually preferred to let his brother take the lead. Rumble didn’t seem to care that he was an Autobot, content that Soundwave had seen the truth in Roddy’s head, although he sometimes still startled and went into a fighting crouch if he caught Roddy’s badge out of the corner of his eye.

That reaction was jarring, but Hot Rod was getting used to it - almost all the ‘Cons did it but generally apologised after. Plus he did it to them too, systems still triggering fight-protocols automatically. He’d only accidentally shot someone once - Wildrider, who in Hot Rod’s defence had leapt on him from behind in what was apparently supposed to be a greeting. The Stunticon had laughed it off as not even close to what his brothers did, which sounded somewhat alarming and increased his trepidation at being introduced to the other three. 

It didn't help that the first time they brought him to the lower part of the ship, they'd been greeted by an irate Motormaster whose admonishment to _'get that fucking Autobot out of our hall!'_ could probably be heard in France. Even after Drag Strip had wheedled him round, Motormaster remained unfriendly and untalkative.

The other two, Dead End and Breakdown, thankfully were nicer which helped to smooth over some of the awkwardness.

What really sealed their friendship though, was after Roddy'd been invited to their 'den' – a room that was partially flooded due to a rent in the outer hull from where the _Victory_ had crashed into the ocean. He was immediately entranced on entering to find Breakdown with some wires tied to a pipe, fishing.

Dead End was content to just watch, idly polishing his leg plating with a rag as they sat next to each other, though a glance from him was enough to quell his more rowdy brothers. Loud noises would scare the fish.

Hot Rod soon found himself engrossed in conversation with them (much to Wildrider's disappointment, who wanted to go racing), and though Breakdown was initially skittish of him, he quickly warmed up when he found Roddy was actually interested and wasn't teasing him about it.

“W-well, mostly I give them to C-Commander Thundercracker... you know, for the puppy.”

“Really?”

Roddy picked one up between a thumb and forefinger gingerly, examining it. They were all scales and spikes and teeth - they sure didn't _look_ edible. Or at least, they didn't look like the fish in the lake where Mr Witwicky had taught him and Daniel how to fish.

Dead End took it off him, and put it neatly back down next to the other one with a pat on the head.

“Turns out dogs don't drink energon, apparently. Mixmaster does something to make them cubes though.”

“Huh.”

The fishing was something that perhaps other versions of his brothers would have mocked Breakdown for, but here it was appreciated. Their permanently temporary Air Commander was more likely to look the other way in regards to racing in the halls or when they snuck out to just go for a drive in the open air, thanks to his help with looking after Buster.

It was one of those days he was with the Stunticons, with the cassette twins supervising him, that he decided to try and learn more about this world he was stuck in. He didn't want to keep upsetting people by accident, especially not Soundwave again who had been nothing but nice to him, if a little over-protective.

“I was wondering, if it's okay, how come you guys are cars? I thought all Decepticons could fly?”

Drag Strip perked up excitedly, poking at Rumble's shoulder.

“Oh oh oh, that's my favourite story. Tell it again.”

Frenzy's visor flickered in his approximation of eye-rolling, from where he was sat perched on Motormaster's shoulder.

“Oh great, this again.”

“Ah shut yer trap.”

Roddy looked between them with interest.

“You weren't both there?”

“Nah, Frenz' was workin' on somethin' else.”

“Yup, back in the good ol' days when Boss let us do stuff by ourselves.”

Rumble leant forwards as they sat in a cluster round him, grinning broadly at his audience.

“Well it all started when Megatron decided we needed to convince the humans we were on their side. And the squishies were pretty fond of the Autobots so he figured if _we_ had people who looked like Autobots, they could be like ambassadors or whatever.”

“Couldn't he just talk to them himself?”

“He turns into a _gun_ , it ain't exactly fleshie-friendly. Not as much as Prime, anyway. Humans never trusted us – we're evil, rampaging warframes remember?”

“Yeah, so anyway, naturally _I_ get entrusted with it cause I'm awesome-”

Frenzy chucked a bolt from his subspace at him.

“Hey quit it! Anyway like I was sayin', I got some human cars then Megatron and Soundwave re-built them.”

Hot Rod frowned.

“You mean you stole them.”

Rumble shrugged unrepentantly.

“Not like there was much of a choice. Figured they might be liked more if they were made from Earth metals.”

It made sense. The Stunticons were unique in that they were truly from Earth – the only thing that linked them to Cybertron was that their sparks must still have come from Vector Sigma.

“ _So anyway_ , if you all could stop interruptin'-”

“Yeah we're nearly at the bit where I show up!”

Motormaster reached over and cuffed Drag Strip over the helm.

“Shut up and let him finish.”

“So after we built you guys, we still needed sparks. Well, luckily Screamer still had a bunch of Shockwave's old notes an' he reckoned he could figure out the location of Vector Sigma.

“'Course he only noticed after we got back to Cybertron that we needed a key first. Took a while ta hunt the rusty fragger down, but we managed to beat the Key to Vector Sigma out of Alpha Trion.”

The thought of such an elderly and venerated mech being assaulted made Hot Rod wince, but he held his peace. He'd seen what the Autobots had become, he _really_ didn't want to know what Alpha Trion was like here.

“-an' then finally we fought our way into Vector Sigma's chamber, an' Megs activated it ta create five newsparks, which by the way is _really_ disappointin' ta look at-”

“Wait you've never seen Vector Sigma before?”

Both Rumble and Frenzy laughed.

“Pfft nah. _We're_ from Soundwave”

“Boss' spark splits off sometimes. It happens.”

“But, if you don't come from Vector Sigma doesn't that make you dro-”

He managed to stop himself from putting his foot in his mouth, by jamming a hand in there instead, and sheepishly waved for Rumble to continue with the other one. Rumble stared at him for a spark-beat more then shrugged.

“Uhh, so then Megatron said-”

He broke off suddenly – it was hard to tell because of his visor, but it looked like he'd glanced at Hot Rod's badge.

“Uh, okay so, don't take this personally or nothin', okay? Thing was, we'd lost Reflector recently, and Megatron was still pretty uh... not coping. Anyway. So he told it ta _'fill them with hatred for the Autobots and all that the Autobots stand for'_.”

Roddy shrugged – it seemed a reasonable thing to say, given the circumstances. Although it did raise one question:

“So, how come you guys don't hate me?”

The Stunticons looked at each other, shrugging. Breakdown carefully tied another bit of weed and lowered it into the water before responding first.

“I guess you don't r-really act like an Autobot?”

“Yeah! He's like... a Deceptibot! Something like that.”

That was something he felt he ought to argue against – it was the _others_ that didn't act like Autobots, not him. But, it was close enough. And he didn't exactly want to try convincing the Stunticons that he was a proper Autobot if that meant they'd hate him.

While they were talking, both Rumble and Frenzy had stilled, heads cocked to the side in the same pose, obviously listening to something over comms. The pair looked worried as they both made for the door.

“Hey uh, we're needed in the command room, sorry guys.”

“Oh yeah, keep an eye on him for us, thanks!”

The rest watched them run out, rather bewildered. Except for Motormaster, who just scowled at Hot Rod.

“Great, now _we_ have to babysit.”

“Hey! I'm older than you!”

Perhaps surprisingly, the ret of his gestalt backed Roddy rather than him.

“Give it a rest Motorbreath, we know you like him too.”

Motormaster looked away, arms folded defensively.

“Whatever.”

The room lapsed into silence, save for the grumblings of restless engines. No one knew what had got the twins so spooked, but whatever it was, it was gonna be bad. Not even Wildrider could maintain his high spirits as their worries mingled through their gestalt-bond. Hot Rod might not be part of that bond, but he was picking up on their feelings anyway, and he could only assume that the Autobots were doing _something_.

The piercing wail of a siren crashing into their thoughts, as well as red emergency lighting cutting on, was almost a relief in that at least they would know what was happening.

Automatically all the Stunticons got up as one and began heading for the bridge, Hot Rod following behind a little unsure if he should be going with them or returning to Soundwave's room.

“Hold up, what's going on?”

They hesitated, aware that they'd been told to watch him but equally unsure what to actually do with him. Dead End shrugged at his brothers, and gestured for Roddy to follow.

“Well it does mean _all_ hands. Come on.”

-

They clattered into the staging area to find it already filled, in a manner of speaking, with the other Decepticons. They were standing in a group, talking in low tones or performing last-minute weapon-checks. As the Stunticons made their way to their assigned spot the sirens cut off – everyone was here. 

Roddy began following them, not sure where he should go, before spotting the commanders in a huddle off to the side and headed that way instead. He probably ought to check with Megatron or Soundwave about what he was supposed to be doing. As he got closer, he began catching snatches of their conversation.

“-said he could stay behind with 'Warp.”

“I'd rather _you_ remain here with Skywarp, and Dirge accompany us instead. I need fighters that aren't compromised.”

“And I _already told him_ to stay. Look, it's- it's not one of his good days, okay?”

Megatron sighed in defeat and nodded.

“It's not a good day for anyone... I _can't_ call a retreat early this time. Too many lives are depending on us. If they-”

“I'll **manage**.”

By the stubborn set of his wings even Hot Rod could tell Thundercracker wouldn't be persuaded. In the lull of the conversation he stepped forwards and tapped Soundwave's arm to get his attention.

“What's going on? Should I be doing something?”

Thundercracker snorted and brushed past Megatron on the way to his place near the front, snapping over his shoulder.

“You need fighters, take him. Maybe he'll snuff _our_ Prime too.”

Soundwave put a hand on Hot Rod's shoulder – he could sense the words had hit like a blow. But Hot Rod stood up straighter, fists clenched as he looked at them.

“I meant what I said. I _want_ to help.”

“Hot Rod, will assist Soundwave. Time, critical.”

Megatron looked like he wanted to argue further, but they were running behind already. Instead he nodded, sighing again.

“Very well. Follow Soundwave's commands, and stay out of trouble.”

With that, he headed to the front as well, raising an arm as he spoke, to get the others' attention as he addressed them.

“My Decepticons. We have received a distress signal from the _Death's Head_. They have suffered an engine explosion while entering the atmosphere and are under attack. It is certain that the Autobots know we are coming. Regardless, we will not allow more of our comrades to fall into Autobot hands, by any means necessary. Soundwave will give each group further orders as we close in.”

He nodded at Soundwave, who then activated the staging-ground lift. The floor started to rumble as the tower rose out of the ocean, shedding sea-water as it did so.

With the entire crew prepared to leave, it was now obvious how few they were – where there should have been a full flight of Seekers, Thundercracker stood alone. The three remaining Constructicons were clustered around Astrotrain, the sole triple-changer, into whom they'd be loading as many injured as they could. The Stunticons formed a protective ring around them. Megatron was stood at the front as well, and Skywarp and Dirge were stood along the edge of the room, where they could see the others off then re-lower the landing tower once it was clear. The three Cassetticons were not visible, presumably they were docked already within Soundwave. And aside for Hot Rod, and Soundwave himself, this was the entirety of the Decepticon forces on Earth. 

Hot Rod had to muffle a yelp with his hand when Soundwave swept him up into his arms. Of course, he had no anti-gravs or thrusters, he couldn't fly on his own or drive on the ocean.

_'Don't think anyone heard that. Good. You're still cool, Roddy.'_

The bay door swung open and everyone took off simultaneously in a combined roar of powerful engines, straight into the teeth of a storm. Behind them, the tower sunk back below the tossing waves, lowered by one of the Seekers left behind.

The gale and rain were severe, and Hot Rod had to half-shutter his optics to see though it, but even though the wind buffeted against them, Soundwave's arms remained firm around him. He tried not to wiggle as he looked around – he wasn't exactly the size and weight of a minibot.

The sea and sky were the same iron grey, the approaching land hard to see through the heavy rain and low storm clouds. The shore looked equally unforgiving as they passed over and flew inland. 

It didn't really look like the parts of the Earth he'd seen before. Metal cybertronian-style roads stretched across scrub and wasteland, but there was no traffic and no signs of human habitation. Maybe it was just the poor weather, but the land looked almost dead.

Hot Rod was so busy looking for anything he recognised, he didn't see the crash until they were practically on top of it. Autobots were exchanging blasterfire with those still inside the ship but they were mostly in a large group surrounding their Prime, as well as a large tank-former frame that must be a Decepticon – he was on his knees with a gun to his head, a blastmask and visor obscuring his expression. Maybe the captain or commander?

“Disable audio receptors.”

Hot Rod blinked, but did so. He tried asking why but Soundwave didn't react – he must have done the same.

Ahead of them, Thundercracker accelerated into a dive, and Hot Rod watched in mute amazement when he broke the sound-barrier. The sheeting rain shattered in the shockwaves of his wake, visibly ringing out around the Seeker. It was probably loud enough to have blown his receptors if he hadn't temporarily disabled them like the other Decepticons, and it certainly distracted the Autobots' attention.

Instantly, all five Aerialbots were up and after him, like hounds on a fox. He shot upwards again, rolled lazily to expose his belly, and Roddy didn't need to be a flight-frame to understand what he was saying – _I am better than you, catch me if you think you can_.

Megatron was first on the ground after him, roaring as he touched down.

“ _PRIME!_ ”

The two sides surged towards each other, the Decepticons splitting into smaller groups to reach each of the prisoners that had been pulled from the ship.

On landing slightly away from the action, Soundwave set Hot Rod down then reached up to hit the button on his shoulder.

“Ravage, eject. Operation: Rescue Survivors.”

She shot out from his dock, flipping in the air as she transformed to land neatly on all fours. 

“Hot Rod, assist Ravage.”

He turned before either could protest, shoulder-cannon whirring up as he advanced on the Autobots to provide a distraction. Ravage snarled unhappily, watching him go, then turned and loped along the ridge, angling towards the crashed ship. 

“W-wait up!”

An angry red eye gleamed as she glanced back at him running to catch up.

“If you slow me down I will leave you behind.”

“Since when _-huff-_ could you _talk_?”

They half-scrambled, half-slid down the slope, the ground churning to mud underneath their feet. As they reached the wreckage, there was a blur of yellow as Bumblebee leapt down from a part of the engine block right on-top of Ravage. She snarled and twisted, hind claws kicking furrows down his plating but unable to shake him off or knock the energyblade from his hands.

Hot Rod sprinted to catch up to them, haste and panic making him stumble as he switched to manual-targetting after his weapon-systems automatically locked onto Ravage.

He got a clear shot of Bee as he was pinning her down, but to his horror attempting to shoot at the other Autobot tripped all his friendly-fire protocols and locked his wrist guns into a soft reboot. Clawing warnings and alerts from his HUD, he looked around in desperation and seized up a loose twisted bar from the crash then belted Bumblebee over the head with it, hard.

The minibot spat out garbled static and toppled off, Ravage clawed herself out from under him and sprinted for the ship with a snarl.

“Go!”

Roddy followed after her, keeping a tight grip on his makeshift weapon. Even with his fans running on high he still felt like he couldn't vent properly, his frame was starting to shake again as what just happened caught up in his processor. 

“Primus I just hit Bumblebee oh Primus!”

He spared a glance over his shoulder as they ran – Bumblebee was starting to sit up, rubbing at the back of his head.

“He looks okay...”

Ravage led the way through a rent in the outer hull, amusement colouring her voice.

“Next time, hit him harder then.”

“But-but he's _Bumblebee!_ ”

Hot Rod tried to get a hold of himself, voice having crackled a bit on the last word, and brandished his pole as they began cautiously moving through the ship. The noise of his movements echoed faintly down the corridor ahead of them but Ravage didn't mention it – despite her harsh words earlier she knew he was trying his best to be quiet.

The ship was far smaller than the _Ark_ or the _Victory_ and it didn't take long for them to track down the crewmembers. The first two they passed looked like they might have been killed by the crash, the next one as they rounded a corner had been dismembered.

Ravage slowed down, ears and nose twitching, she crept towards the scent of a stranger that still lived, mingled with a scent she knew all too well. Roddy moved along as stealthily as he could – as they got closer he could hear someone humming and the sound of rending metal.

It sounded like it was just round the corner – underneath it he could just about hear someone venting harshly, sounded like they were injured. Hot Rod crouched down slowly, careful not to make a noise, and Ravage leant against him with her vocaliser pressed against his audios. His comms didn't work with hers so she had to whisper, frame tense and ready to pounce.

“Get them out of the ship, take them to Hook. I'll deal with the Autobot.”

A guilty relief flooded through him at the thought of not having to fight someone who might be one of his friends, as well as more than a little dread – he didn't know if he'd be able, was terrified of screwing up again and getting more people killed. But there was no choice and he nodded, gathering himself.

Ravage went round the corner without hesitation and hurled herself at Sunstreaker. He was taken by surprise when she slammed into his back, but only momentarily. But Hot Rod didn't have concentration to spare on watching them as he darted round after her, the body parts strewn over the floor making him stumble. A small part of his brain numbly pointed out that each bit had been neatly severed rather than torn, but the majority of his attention was on the more intact frame on the floor.

He was greying round the edges, his chest rent open, but there was still a faint flicker of red in one optic, staring at an out-flung arm that had failed to reach the companion that had been cut to pieces in front of him. Hot Rod got a grip under his shoulders and heaved him back away from the fighting pair. 

It didn't help that the injured Decepticon was half a head bigger than him, and could only recognise him as someone with an Autobot badge taking them who-knows-where. The struggling -if such a weak twitching could be called that- was slowing him down a bit but mostly it just added to Roddy's stress level, and he huffed a sigh of relief when the 'Con dropped into stasis-lock from the energy loss.

Hot Rod wasn't sure the exact way back to the hole they'd entered the ship so he aimed for the sounds of the fighting outside and the distinctive deep-throated _choom_ of Megatron's fusion cannon.

Luckily there were multiple rents in the hull so he was soon able to heave him out of the ship and start hauling him in the direction of Astrotrain's alt-mode, praying that no one would notice them while he was defenceless. Even though Hot Rod tried his best to keep as much of the wounded areas as possible out of the mud, he couldn't succeed entirely – they'd probably need to scrub their legs down later, but at least they'd be alive to do it. Hopefully.

Inadvertently slowing down, he looked around him as he went, worried about what was happening to everyone else. Megatron and Prime were still slugging it out near the centre of the ravine, the rest just a confusing melee of laserfire, mud-spattered frames, and rain.

Movement from a ridge on the other side caught his optics. It looked like Prowl -someone with door-wings anyway- who had raised a hand to his helm as though speaking over comms. High above, Thundercracker dropped like a stone out of his alt-mode. Only through force of will he kept his thrusters firing enough to keep himself in the air, and with a keen of despair he hurled himself at Silverbolt and clawed at the jet's plating and wiring in a rage fuelled by pain.

_'Just focus on what you're doing. Just keep going.'_

Ravage reappeared alongside him, Sunstreaker not in pursuit – she must have lost him in the commotion somewhere. And despite earlier, she did slow her speed to his as she escorted him onwards. 

Hot Rod staggered after her up Astrotrain's ramp, hauling the unconscious Decepticon up after himself. He dragged him out of the way of the entrance before putting him down and then collapsing against the curve of Astrotrain's hull and sliding down to the floor. Ravage paced over to sit next to them, where she watched the Constructicons feverishly work on someone brought in earlier.

But Hot Rod couldn't keep his attention focused on them, he was too drained, too distracted by the sounds of the continuing battle outside. After a moment he brought up his friendly-fire protocols again and started reclassifying the Autobots and Decepticons listed in them, switching them around.

A savage burst of cursing made him jump and he looked over. Despite their efforts the mech they were working on had guttered, but even though Hook was snapping at the other two to move faster all three of them were working without pause. Scavenger started stripping the grey frame for parts as Hook and Mixmaster moved onto the nameless 'Con he'd rescued. Roddy looked away again. It made sense with resources so tight but it still felt ghoulish, whoever that had been had not even had funerary rites. 

He tried to get back up again, to go back out there and help, but his legs didn't seem to want to work properly, and now he had time to focus on such things he realised his plating was rattling and he was shaking. He clenched his fists, trying to keep them still.

_'This is so embarrassing.'_

Ravage noticed his attempts at standing and moved in-front of him.

“Stay. We are leaving soon.”

He nodded, quietly grateful he didn't have to go back out into the battlefield again.

“Okay. Were there any casualties among, you know, the 'Cons that were here already?”

An ear flickered in his direction but she was looking out of the hold.

“Soundwave says no deaths from the crew of the _Victory_ today.” After a moment she added, “No Autobot deaths either.”

He nodded, mixed up with guilt and relief.

“And the others?”

“Two brought here, eight dead on the field, three captured.”

“We're gonna rescue them though, right? ...Ravage?”

She remained silent, thinking over her choice of words. Anyone else would have understood what she meant by captured. Anyone else wouldn't have asked.

“We don't... let them be taken...”

She was saved from explaining further by the arrival of Megatron. He was carrying Thundercracker, who was clamped into a tight ball around his spasming chest-plating, and set him down carefully on the other side of the hold from Roddy and Ravage, then turned to address Hook who jumped when he spoke, having been too focused to hear him come in.

“How many?”

“It will be _zero_ if you startle me again.”

He leant back on his heels, still wrist-deep in the young 'Con's chassis.

“He's stabilising, should last until we get back to the rest of my equipment. How many?”

Megatron looked down from him to the fusion cannon mounted to his wrist.

“Three.”

“You can't keep doing this to yourself, at least let someone else-”

“I will not have this argument again, old friend. It is _my_ responsibility, and the least I can do for them. Inform me when Deadlock regains conscious, I wish to speak with him.”

He didn't give the medic a chance to argue back and strode into the cockpit, the door shutting behind him. Astrotrain's responses were felt as a vibration through his plating, though the door muffled the words. There was a stronger rumble as his engines kicked in and they took off, masking their conversation entirely.

The journey back was made in a defeatist silence. Hot Rod remained where he was sat, going over what he'd overheard in his mind. He could guess what had happened to those three captured, he could do the math, he wasn't stupid. And the expression on Megatron's face had been... awful. If the Autobots were to follow them back to the _Victory_ and attack, they'd find the Decepticons already half-beaten. 

_'They won't because they don't think that they're- that **we're** a threat. It can't go on like this. I won't **let** it.'_

Kup had what had felt like a sixth sense for when one of his charges were about to do something spectacularly dangerous. Ultra Magnus had quickly learnt that a _quiet_ Hot Rod was a _planning_ Hot Rod. But no one here knew him that well, and no one recognised the stubborn set of his jaw, and they took his quiet thinking for the same centuries-long malaise they were stuck in.

-

Two days later and Hot Rod was still on best behaviour, but it was hard to try and plan an escape when you lived with a telepath. Soundwave hadn't _said_ anything though so maybe he was escaping suspicion. 

The whole base was even more subdued than normal, even the cassette twins or Wildrider rarely out in the corridors. He hadn't seen any of the Seekers at all since they'd returned either.

It was Ravage that told him that Deadlock, the Decepticon he'd carried, was out of stasis now. At first he thought she was talking to someone else, because she'd gone right back to ignoring him after that mission, but as it turned out, as Hot Rod was partially responsible for rescuing him, she thought he might like to know.

Now that he also enjoyed greater freedom of movement around the _Victory_ , and didn't get lost by himself so much that he still needed an escort, he set off to find the medbay to meet the newcomer properly.

He was almost there when he heard voices coming towards him: Megatron's and someone he didn't recognise.

“-with the greatest of respect, _sir_ , you didn't have time to coddle me then and you don't have time to coddle me now. But I am going to kill the first Autobot I see.”

“Yes, well, there might be a problem with that-”

He froze against the wall, hiding round the corner until they had passed. Another person who hated him without having met him. Awesome. At least from what he could still overhear, the specifics of his situation were being brushed over in favour of explaining that no, they would not be going on a retaliatory strike against the Autobots and that Deadlock was to remain here and recover. An order that was poorly received, judging from the angry echoes following down the hall as he made his way to the common-room instead.

He understood how Deadlock felt - he felt the same way - but he also sympathised with Megatron being forced to made that decision when every time they did anything Starscream, and through him also Thundercracker and Skywarp, was punished for it. 

To his delight, Skywarp was sat in the Seeker's usual booth, and Hot Rod went to join him after collecting his own half-cube ration from the dispenser. It still tasted revolting but he'd learnt that sipping at it both helped it go down better and made it feel like there was more than there was.

“Um, I was wondering, if you guys had like a map or something, of Autobot City?”

“Eh, there's probably one on a datapad somewhere, but there's no power for them. Why?”

“Oh, I was just wondering how different it is to my Autobot City. Like, maybe the defence installations are the same?”

“Hey, that's pretty smart. No wonder TC likes you.”

Hot Rod startled a little, spoiler flicking up before he could stop it. 

“Wait, he does?”

Skywarp snickered, twirling his empty cube absently, and pretending not to notice how the little sports-car was often unconsciously more expressive with his spoiler when talking to the Seekers.

“Don't expect him to admit it.”

Their conversation was enough of a distraction that when Megatron entered the room to collect his own ration, Hot Rod spared him only a glance. He didn't really register the ongoing argument between him and Deadlock until it escalated to be heard by everyone in the room.

“Well maybe you've just gotten rusted!”

“That is **enough**.”

But Deadlock had always been unruly, impulsive and headstrong, and now he was spurred by grief and rage.

“ _ **I challenge you for leadership of the Decepticons.**_ ”

The unfortunate words fell into a lull in the ambient level of conversation, loudly enough that no one could with decency pretend they hadn't been said.

All eyes were on the pair now, briefly regret flicked over Deadlock's faceplates before he raised his chin defiantly. Megatron turned around to face him. He knew that refusing the challenge would be worse than losing it. The Decepticons might be willing to follow someone who'd lost the war, but they would _not_ follow a coward. 

Hot Rod had rose out of his seat with a half-formed idea about helping or intervening, but Skywarp reached over and pressed him back down with a hand on his shoulder.

“You don't want to be doing that.”

“Are they really going to fight? You're all just going to watch?”

'Warp just shushed him, watching the pair with an almost predatory interest. He wasn't the only one – they were the focus of every other Decepticon's attention. Everyone was watching, waiting. It wasn't something anyone had considered for a long long time, but what if they themselves were the leader instead? What if it was safe to quarrel with Megatron now?

It didn't last long. The movements were too fast for Roddy to follow precisely, but almost immediately Deadlock had his face ground into the floor and a foot on his back. Hot Rod winced in sympathy, once more feeling those arms round his neck for a brief moment.

After a minute of futile struggling, Deadlock yielded. When Megatron let him stand again, he stormed out of the room without further comment, engine snarling in a frustrated pitch. 

The rest of the room ignored him in contempt and turned back to their own business, the status quo restored. Some idiot got above himself, Megatron put him in his place. Same old, same old.

Hot Rod waited a few more minutes before making his excuses and slipping out to go looking for him.

-

He found him in the small room used as a shrine, carving names into the wall. Hot Rod paused in the doorway, unwilling to disturb him: he knew that if that was his own friends' names, someone wearing a Decepticon badge would be the last person he'd want to see. He shifted his weight from side to side, hesitating, before knocking on the wall beside the door to announce his presence instead.

Deadlock didn't turn around but he did brush fingertips over his weapons, maybe reassuring himself they were still there just in case, or perhaps drawing attention to them as a threat.

“Hey um, so we kinda started off on the wrong foot-”

“If you come near me I will _shoot_ you.”

There was a crackle in his voice that took all the threat out of it, and his shoulders hunched inwards – he knew how pathetic he sounded right now and he _hated_ it. Roddy took a step forwards automatically before realising what he was doing and stopping again. It was doubtful the hug he wanted to give would be appreciated.

“I'm not- I'm not like them. I'm-”

“'Not from here', I've been told. Repeatedly.”

Hot Rod winced, he could imagine the cassettes' reactions to finding out someone had threatened 'their' Autobot.

“Well, if you ever want someone to talk to, you know...”

“You?! What would you know, _you've_ never lost anything!”

Deadlock leant further forwards, arms wrapped round himself, and rested his forehead on the wall. He still hadn't looked at Hot Rod at all. Hot Rod stepped a little closer, trying to move silently. He could just about see the names round Deadlock's frame, each glyph gleaming the colour of freshly scratched metal. Gasket, Turmoil, Lockdown, Crasher... there were twelve new names in all. Twelve more sparks snuffed out.

The misgivings about his plan, about failing again, fell silent in the face of the despair that filled the room. Nobody was going to die on his watch. Not ever again.

Hot Rod braced himself then stepped into the middle of the doorway, preventing him from leaving. This was it, once he said this out loud there wasn't any walking away from it.

“Don't you want to get back at them?”

Deadlock paused, rather than shoving past him.

“What do you mean?”

“Look, I know you don't like me, but I need your help. I'm not going to just sit around and wait for the Autobots to get bored and wipe us out, I'm going to do something about it, regardless of what Megatron says.”

He held out a hand, a temporary truce. After a moment's silence, Deadlock took it and tugged him in from the doorframe then shut the door behind him. He kept his voice low, having heard Soundwave's reputation for surveillance already.

“What do you expect to do, just the two of us?”

Hot Rod grinned at him, his confidence infectious.

“Don't worry - I've got a plan.”

As he explained further, sat together on the floor, Deadlock's answering smile was all fang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your amazingness & patience ♥  
> (& sorry if there's any G1 fans here that don't like Deadlock!!)
> 
> I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter finished, but YES next chapter is Starscream :3


	6. If You Ride With Me This Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apart from previous content warnings, there is also some eye-horror in this chapter.

Convincing the Stunticons was easier than he expected.

The thought that they were staring down at another twenty years or so of being cooped up underwater was already starting to chafe, and they were desperate for any way to hit back at the Autobots, for any kind of victory at all.

“Listen, everyone. I know everyone's done their best to try and get Starscream out, but I think we need a different approach. Lying low to catch them off guard again is great, but it's not working, an-”

“But that's what Megatron said was best to do!”

“There's too many of them to try storming the city again.”

“ **But** if you only go on raids to make a distraction for Soundwave and the others to sneak in, then they know Soundwave is there once you start a raid. When we ran into each other, Mirage and Jazz were already in the sewers looking for them.”

“There isn't another way to get in.”

Hot Rod grinned, spoiler flicked up confidently.

“Actually, I used to sneak out all the time, over the roof, and Ultra Magnus never caught me. And Ultra Magnus isn't even here-” _'Thank Primus!'_ “-so it ought to be even easier to sneak in. Plus I'm pretty sure he's being held in the crew quarters somewhere, not the brig.”

“But, how do you kn- _know_ where he'll be?”

“Uh, well, I did ask about a map- but I'm pretty sure it'll be the same layout.”

The main problem was bringing Motormaster round, even afterwards, but his brothers knew how to convince him.

“Just think of how proud Megatron will be when we get back!”

“Megatron is _already_ proud of me.”

Though, he crossed his arms and looked away. He knew neither of his creators would ever blame him or his brothers for failing to swing the course of the war in their favour, or for not being able to convince any of the human governments of their good intentions before the Autobots dissolved them all, but it still _felt_ like failure, and Motormaster _hated_ failing.

“I guess, if Soundwave knows about it...”

Hot Rod just smiled awkwardly and changed the subject. Not correcting their assumption that it was Soundwave he'd talked to about Autobot City – that didn't count as actually lying right? Anyway, it was for a good cause so, whatever.

“Okay so, we need to get out of the ship without drawing attention to ourselves. I mean, in case the Autobots are spying.”

“What about him? Are you sure he should be coming with us?”

They looked back at Deadlock, who scowled at the presumption that he would stay behind. On the other hand, maybe Motormaster had a point. It hadn't been _that_ long ago that Deadlock had nearly guttered out – fresh weld lines still criss-crossed his body, and a few of them had reopened and were bleeding sluggishly thanks to having been slammed into the ground by Megatron only a few hours beforehand. And of course he wasn't going to go back to Hook after re-injuring himself by what all the older 'Cons considered his own rank stupidity.

“What, afraid you can't keep up with me?”

Motormaster responded to the snarl with an angry rev of his engine, looming over him.

“Watch your mouth, newcomer.”

Roddy interspersed himself between them to head off the argument.

“ _Okay so_ , I'm sure you guys know of a way out that doesn't involve the landing tower? I mean, you must sneak out for a drive sometime, right?”

The Stunticons exchanged glances, conferring over their team-comms.

“Well, you only live once I suppose.” Dead End shrugged, and dropped into the water. The rest followed after him, guiding Hot Rod and Deadlock to the hole in the ship's hull that they used as a private back-door.

-

They drove across the blighted landscape, quiet apart from their engines and the noise of their passing. Except for Deadlock, who kept muttering curses due to the fact that his repulsors kept kicking organic matter up into his undercarriage, as he hadn't had a chance to change his alt-mode to one more suited to the Earth.

Dawn was only a few hours away when the lights and structures of Autobot City loomed up over the horizon. Hot Rod led them around, away from the main roads and up into the hills surrounding the fortress-city.

They climbed the cliff slowly, trying to be as stealthy and keep out of view of the air as much as possible. Hot Rod was on the lookout for any landmarks he recognised – luckily the area was mostly the same, save for the lack of vegetation and other organic life. The path he and his friends had made was missing, but presumably there had been no one to make it in this dimension.

He ducked behind an outcropping that jutted out towards the city's walls, close to the top, and gestured the others over.

“Here. We'll need to re-build the ramp though.”

They squeezed in behind him and looked out over the gap.

“You make that jump? Nice.” Wildrider patted him on the arm.

“Mhm. You see that vent-stack there,” he pointed upwards where it was visible over the lip of the wall. “There's a service hatch at the base of it. Comes out a floor up from the habsuites. I'm pretty sure that's where they're keeping him.”

“What are we waiting for then? Lets go smash some Autobots!”

Drag Strip got up to fly over and was hauled back down by Motormaster.

“What is the _actual_ plan?”

Hot Rod looked them all over, thinking.

Really, he probably shouldn't have brought the Stunticons - they were almost half of the surviving Decepticons on Earth by themselves. If any of them were killed now, it might not be a blow Megatron and the rest could recover from. And they were still only younglings even if they had been forced to grow up too fast.

“Right. Deadlock and me are going in. I need you guys to hang back and cover us – we'll probably have to fight our way back out.”

Motormaster didn't look like he liked that and he scowled at Deadlock.

“He's already injured, how helpful is he even going to be?”

Before Hot Rod could even open his mouth, Deadlock snapped back.

“No great loss then, is it, if we fail.”

Roddy put his hands between them again, determined to keep the peace.

“Hey, don't say things like that. We _aren't_ going to fail. Now first off, everyone needs to exchange comm frequencies.”

That ended up as a problem - while there was no issues between Deadlock and the Stunticons, no one could connect to Hot Rod's or vice versa. It was like they each didn't exist to the other's communication module.

After a few frustrating minutes Roddy gave up.

“Nevermind, we'll just have to relay any messages.”

Dead End shook his head.

“Not wise. The Autobot Communications Officer will probably pick them up. He's not the best-”

“Not as g-good as Soundwave!”

“Obviously!”

“-but there's no way Blaster won't notice a Decepticon frequency at this distance.”

“Radio silence then,” Deadlock shrugged, gaze still focused on Motormaster. “If we need you, I'll call.”

Hot Rod nodded in agreement. He didn't know how Blaster was in a fight, but it probably wouldn't correlate to this Blaster anyway, so it probably didn't matter.

“Okay. We get over there, get through the service chute, find Starscream, get him back out the same way. Once we're back on the roof you'll probably have to help us get back over - I don't think we can make that jump carrying him.”

“Hah! **No one** just _'carries Starscream'_ \- What?”

Wildrider wilted back down at everyone else's glare.

“Volume down!” Motormaster pinched the bridge of his nose and vented out deeply, throttling down his frustration with his brother before it turned into a need to hit something. “How do you get across normally?”

“Me and 'Cee, we had a ramp on the lip of the wall, _there_ ,” he pointed, “and we used the slope here to get back in.”

“Easier if we just boost you over quickly.”

“Alright, thanks. And... thanks for, y'know, trusting me.”

“Obviously - you're not an Autobot.”

Hot Rod just nodded - that was a point he just couldn't seem to win. After a confirming nod from Deadlock that his comms were off, Roddy stood.

“Ready when you are.”

-

Set down carefully on the roof by the hatch, they crouched down and waited for Motormaster and Dead End to withdraw back to their initial position. Hot Rod used the time to examine the lock. There had been no one in this world to use it enough to leave it unlocked, didn't look like anyone had used it at all in fact - the whole doorframe was rusted through and crumbled when he touched it.

Gently they began to lever it up, shifting what was left out of the way. No alarm sounded, and Roddy cautiously poked his head inside. The ladder was still there, though it hadn't fared much better than the door in terms of maintenance. He couldn't hear anything – the bottom of the shaft sounded empty – and they started down.

The circular patch of visible sky grew fainter as they descended, until they were in blackness, but it wasn't safe to use headlights. At the bottom the only light was each other's optics. There wasn't much space either – they were pressed up against each other as Hot Rod groped around for the door into the service corridor. One hand felt what must be the access-panel and he pressed it, had a brief burst of panic that it was locked, but it opened when he pressed it again.

After listening once more – still no one – he slipped out with Deadlock close on his heels.

Roddy led the way confidently – two rights and a left would get them into the main areas.

“There's a camera past this corner – you can avoid it by du- Wait.”

“What?” Deadlock hissed from over his shoulder.

“It's not there. There ought to be a security camera here.”

He peered round the corner too – there wasn't even an empty housing where one might have been.

“Maybe they moved it?”

“Maybe.”

But Hot Rod didn't miss the suspicious look the other gave him, even though he pretended to ignore it.

“Come on.”

He crept forwards and Deadlock followed, keeping an eye out behind them (just in case), round the next two corners into Autobot City proper. The hallways remained eerily empty.

Unlike the _Victory_ , Hot Rod knew the city like he knew his own transformation seams, even this stark warlike version of it. Judging from what he'd seen the last time he was here, he was almost certain Starscream in a hab-suite somewhere, not the brig deep in the foundations. And deep in his Spark, he just felt like he _knew_ , somehow.

The thrill of finally doing something to banish the guilt eating at him – it was distracting and he didn't realise Deadlock was lagging behind until he turned to check there was no one creeping up on them. Roddy waited for him to catch up, concerned about the limp and the faint energon-trail he was starting to leave.

Before he could so much as open his mouth, Deadlock interrupted him with an irritated whisper.

“It's fine, don't waste time. Which way now?”

This close, Hot Rod could hear the strain of his engine struggling to force his injured frame to act normally. But he was right – they didn't have time.

“This is the first level of suites. I'm assuming the door will be locked. We should check each one, but-”

“But if someone else is there, kill them as quietly as possible. Right?”

“I- yeah... Yeah okay.”

They both pressed up against each door in turn, audio receptors turned to max to try and hear any trace of the Seeker – or anyone else that might be around. But as they went down one side of the hall and up the other, Roddy was starting to worry it was taking too long, and that he might have guessed wrong on Starscream's location. Or they might have missed him because he was in recharge and quiet, or-

He froze, hand outstretched to shush Deadlock before he could speak, and concentrated. He felt it again, now that he had time to think about it. It really did feel like a tugging on his Spark, like he was in the right place, he just had to go _that_ way.

The pair trotted quietly back down the hall, senses strained to their limits, and round the ramp down to the next level. They heard him before they saw him – that faint crackling hiss that still managed to sound outraged, and then the low purr of someone else's voice over the top of it.

“Now, now, don't be like that. I _know_ you like it.”

Hot Rod reacted first, nerves wound too tight, and sprinted at the door it was coming from. It was unlocked and he ducked through, firing from his wrist-mounted launchers. A little part of him whispered that it was okay really, it wasn't Tracks he'd just shot, the _real_ Tracks would never say something- _do_ something like this. But even now he still couldn't follow it up, now that he'd recognised the other Autobot.

Tracks jerked forwards with a cry, struck in the back and head by the shots – it might have gone badly for Hot Rod then, as he recovered and twisted round to strike back, except that Deadlock was already charging and _his_ shot took the Autobot full in his still-bared spark-chamber. He didn't pause or hesitate, backhanding him with the butt of his pistol while his other hand jammed in and clenched round the spark, snuffing it with a frenzied twist.

Roddy didn't watch as the greying frame was shoved to one side with a vicious kick, feeling rather numb he instead focused on Starscream and calming him down without staring at the thrashing of his spark.

It was immediately apparent that the Autobots had not taken Starscream's role in Hot Rod's escaping lightly – he didn't recognise what was happening at all, instead flinching away with bared fangs and straining against his bonds. When Hot Rod looked at his face – actually _looked_ – he had to clamp a hand over his own mouth to stop his fuel coming out the wrong way.

His optical lenses were gone. Not broken or damaged but surgically removed in a way that left the optics themselves functioning. Without the focusing from the lenses, what vision he did retain was nothing but blurs and vague recognition of light and dark areas.

Straightening up from the offlined Autobot, Deadlock stepped over and saw Starscream for the first time. He stepped back immediately, unable to suppress his reaction - for all his bluster and posturing, Deadlock wasn't _that_ much older than Hot Rod.

“Primus Below...”

He breathed the words out in horror, looking as ill as Roddy felt. They both watched the inner workings of Starscream's optics click round in a futile attempt to focus on the pair.

_'This must be what Thundercracker meant...'_

Even though there had been nothing Roddy could have done at the time, the fact that he had indirectly witnessed it flooded him with guilt that he hadn't prevented this somehow – _and_ was the likely cause for it given the timing.

“Uh...” He forced down the twisting in his tanks and tore his gaze away from the Seeker – there was honestly no where on Starscream's frame that looking at wouldn't feel intrusive.

“We need to break these somehow... or find a key for them.”

The greyed-out frame in the corner of the room might hold one, but he couldn't get the nerve to search it and was trying hard not to think if this counted as having killed his first Autobot, or his second.

Deadlock shook himself, plating clicking and resetting, and pointed to the chains between the manacles.

“Hold them straight.”

He waited for Roddy to pull the chain out taut, angled away from Starscream's frame as much as possible, then he fired at it to break the links. They broke enough to be able to pull it through the bolts around the pole, freeing his arms from where they were hiked up over his head. Starscream slumped forwards, unable to support his own weight, and Roddy caught him while Deadlock freed his legs.

It was as much as they could do just to free him from where he was tied up, they couldn't do anything about the manacles themselves, or the collar, or the bar punched through his wings, nor all the other inhibitors on his frame functions.

The edges of his bared spark were pressed against Hot Rod's chest-plating – he could feel tendrils tingling against his centre seam, and to his horror his frame automatically pinged a request to open them (because why else would someone be resting their spark against his if it wasn't consensual?).

Appalled with his frame's automatic reaction, he cancelled it forcibly, and pulled Starscream up so that he was standing more at arm's length. The Seeker hissed at him, close enough that he got a whiff of the seared wiring from his ruined vocaliser.

“It's okay... You, uh, you don't know me but we're gonna get you out of here.”

Careful to avoid the sagging wings, weighted down by the length of rebar pinning them back, Deadlock moved to his other side to help Hot Rod hold up the larger flight-frame. He was also careful not to look at Starscream's spark-chamber too, clearing vents with an awkward huff, unable to fully regain his collected demeanour.

“Come on, we're wasting too much time.”

They both knew they weren't going to be able to just waltz back out of Autobot City – at some point someone would notice Tracks was missing and come looking for him – but they didn't expect their first opponent to be Starscream himself.

As soon as he was tugged gently towards the door, he began struggling against them again, trying to fight them off while snapping and snarling. It felt like an age just to get him over the threshold of the door, and they had to resort to physically dragging him along down the corridor rather than being able to reason with him as he panicked further.

“Don't you think this is too easy?”

Deadlock grunted, Starscream having blindly jabbed him in the jaw with his elbow.

“It could be easier.”

“No, I mean, why didn't anyone hear the shots, or see us on the security cameras? There must not be anyone at Teletraan II.”

Hot Rod readjusted his grip, tried to pin the Seeker's arms down without stressing him further – to no avail. He was digging in his heels by the time they got back to the junction, pushing away from them like he was trying to return to his cell.

“ _Please_ stop fighting us, we are _trying_ to help!”

They were both so focused on attempting to calm Starscream down in fact, that they nearly walked straight into a wall, before halting in puzzlement.

“Wasn't this a left turn, not a right?”

Deadlock looked at the wall, then back at where the hall continued in the opposite direction.

“Thought you said you had a map.”

“...I said I _asked_ about a map...”

“Whatever.”

They continued on as best they could, but quickly found that nothing was like they they'd come in. It was as if while they'd been in Starscream's cell, the entire building had moved around them.

That, coupled with Star being difficult, was starting to freak Hot Rod out as they wandered lost down identical hallways that twisted and turned and split off into multiple directions. Even Deadlock was affected, his senses straining past their limits to detect any Autobots waiting in ambush. But no Autobots appeared.

“Maybe... maybe the base is abandoned...?”

They paused down another hall after what felt like hours, but was only twenty minutes or so, jittery with nerves while Hot Rod tried to regain his bearings. He was looking back the way they'd come while Deadlock supported Starscream, when he saw the gunner's expression change and whipped round to face the same direction.

Sideswipe was at the end of the hall, and Hot Rod had barely processed that he was there before he was pushing the other two back the way they'd come.

“ _Run run run!_ ”

Sideswipe's laugh floated down the hall after them – he was sauntering almost casually in their direction instead of running after them. Even then, it would be trivial to catch them as they were slowed down by Starscream.

Ahead, just before the previous junction, a bulkhead lowered down to block the way. It ought to have made some kind of damning crash, but it was completely silent – had they not been running towards it, they wouldn't have noticed it.

They were trapped.

Too late Roddy realised what had been going on – the Autobots _had_ changed the layout of the corridors to prevent them from leaving. Had probably been watching them on the cameras the entire time like mice trapped in a maze. Perhaps had even sadistically _allowed_ them to reach Starscream in the first place just to make their later failure worse-

“In here!”

Either luck or Autobot sadism had the door they tried be unlocked and they bolted in - Deadlock shot the door control panel as it closed behind them in hopes it would slow Sideswipe down.

Unfortunately the room they were in was a small storage closet with no other exit. Starscream was unceremoniously dropped, with an apology, and they shoved the handful of boxes and crates that were there against the door as a makeshift barricade.

The door rattled as Sideswipe banged his fist against it.

“Little glitchmice, did you think Red Alert hadn't seen you? You're going to pay for what you've done.”

Hot Rod panted, checked and double-checked that the friendly-fire safety-protocols were off for all his weapons. 

“I think I've just gotten us killed. Sorry.”

Deadlock's grin was more a baring of teeth as he watched the door shake, looking almost eager for Sideswipe to break through. 

“Well, at least we can take some of them with us.”

Neither wanted to entertain the idea that they might be kept alive as prisoners instead - behind them Starscream was ample evidence that some things might be worse than dying.

Star pulled himself up into a ball, arms curled round his bared chest. There was another ugly laugh from outside and Sideswipe slammed into the door again – this time it rattled in its frame.

Roddy looked around for anything- anything at all he could have missed, back braced against the crates. But there was nothing else in the room, save for a covered vent in the corner of the ceiling, but it was too small for any of the three to fit through.

The pounding on the door was getting louder, the metal starting to buckle under the assault as the red front-liner continued to break his way in.

“I am going to help Sunny cut you into teeny tiny pieces~ _Both_ of you, and I don't care what the Hatchet says!”

“You better comm the Stunticons and tell them to get out of here.”

Deadlock nodded and reached up to the side of his head to turn his comm-link back on.

The grated cover to the ceiling duct shifted then fell, and Ravage leapt down after it.

“Foolish,” she hissed, pinning both of them with her glare, then her gaze flicked over to Starscream. She'd known what had been done to him but it was still hard seeing it in person.

“Foolish but brave.”

From the noises outside, Sideswipe had switched from taunting to getting through the door as fast as possible, mood swung from playful to deadly serious. The entire base had been so distracted watching a pair of idiot Decepticons walking into a trap, no one had actually noticed the stealthy cassette working her way through the ventilation system.

“Um, if you're here then does that mean-”

“Soundwave knows where you are? Yes.”

Deadlock jumped suddenly and swore, clapping a hand over the side of his head. He was - quite literally - getting an earful. Of course, what Soundwave knew Megatron knew soon after. Hot Rod gave him a rueful smile and mouthed 'sorry'. Deadlock waved it away, struggling to get a word in edgeways.

“I-, no it-, yes but-, if you would **just** \- _sorry can't hear you sir I'm in a tunnel-_ ”

He clicked his comm off again, returning their stares unrepentantly. A crackling hiss from the corner brought their attention back to Starscream – he couldn't see what was going on, but he could hear them and frankly he wasn't that impressed with the Autobots' latest game of trying to convince him he was being rescued. They were usually a lot more believable than this, and he managed to flick a battered wing-tip in a gesture that was extremely rude- and reminded Hot Rod of how similar Thundercracker and Skywarp were to him, which then reminded him that Skywarp could-

“Ravage! Can you do the- the whatever-it-is! Frenzy said something about-”

“Don't any of you move.”

She hunkered down, fixing an image of the room in her mind. They tried to do as told, pushing back against the door as a fist punched through the weakened metal.

With a crack of displaced air, Skywarp stood in the room with them, staggering a little as the floor was farther away than he expected it to be. He only had eyes for his trine-leader.

“ _Primus_ , Star you look awful!”

There was an awkward pause as everyone processed that yes he did just say that, but Starscream was making an awful grinding noise, shoulders shaking, and it took the others a moment to realise he was _laughing_.

Because no one - not Hound and his holograms, not Perceptor and his VR programs, not Jazz and his forced hacking - not _one_ of the Autobots had ever managed to perfectly mimic Skywarp's habit of blurting out the first thing that came to mind, no matter how inappropriate or offensive.

His bared Spark span in calmer rotations, and when Skywarp helped him to his feet he didn't fight back or pull away. It would have been a touching scene, if not for the fist that punched through the door right past Hot Rod's head. He and Deadlock both ducked down and scrambled over to the others on the far side of the room.

“All of you, grab on!”

They did so, latching onto Skywarp's plating and none too soon as Sideswipe smashed down the top half of the door and lunging at them through the gap with a frustrated roar that was lost in the _vwip_ of a warp-drive engaging and the howling blackness that followed.

-

They popped back into existence half a mile above the mountains, and plummeted. Skywarp alone couldn't keep all five of them airborne, even if he had been at full strength. But the Stunticons, alerted to the situation by Ravage, were rising up to catch them and slow their descent. The landing was still more of a controlled crash than anything else, but no one was severely injured at least.

Motormaster, Dead End and Dragstrip had caught the Seekers, leaving Wildrider and Breakdown to grab Roddy and Deadlock. Ravage had managed by herself, twisting round in the air to land on all four feet. They re-grouped under an overhang to attempt to evade surveillance, everyone struggling not to stare at Starscream's appearance. It was also the first time any of the Stunticons had seen someone's spark (that wasn't one of themselves), and they were as embarrassed as everyone else, looking everywhere but.

“Okay, the others are coming, but I think I can get us all back to the _Victory_. Or at least, a bit closer-”

Skywarp broke off with a yelp, the hand he'd reached out to take hold of Starscream again being slapped away by the other Seeker.

“What was that for?!”

Starscream hissed something through his ruined vocaliser, and backed away until he was pressed against the rock. His fans and turbines were running with an audible rattle and knocking sound, and if his wings weren't pinned behind him, they would be flared up in aggression. It looked like he still didn't recognise them, that he still didn't believe he'd been rescued. But Skywarp could feel through their trine-bond that that wasn't the problem - he knew who they were but he didn't want to go back with them to the _Victory_.

But the bond only went so far - he knew what he didn't want to do but he didn't know why, or what Starscream was trying to explain to him instead. Starscream knew that too, and he held out a hand, trembling fingers spread out invitingly.

“Star, you know I don't speak Hand...”

Ravage approached cautiously, careful not to crowd the agitated mech. She sat on her hindquarters and reached a forepaw up to touch his hand gently. He slid his fingers between her digits, as best as they were able with his stiffened joints and her lack of thumbs.

“Starscream, there is very little time, we need to return t-”

Her ears pricked up as she understood what he was signing, each movement slurring into the next with his haste and sheer delight at being able to actually _talk_ to someone.

“You have the codes?”

He smirked, for a brief moment looking like his old self again.

Ravage hesitated. Logically, she knew that this was an opportunity that needed to be taken _now_ or not at all. The Autobot Security Director would already be revoking access codes to the City after the breach, the space-bridge would be their next priority. But, she also knew that Starscream's judgement was probably clouded by the vindictive need to strike back at his abusers, to reassert himself, _prove_ that they hadn't won, they hadn't broken him – a feeling she understood, and shared.

There were certain things, feelings, the remaining Cassetticons had never discussed with their carrier after the torture from Autobot Black Ops, and Ravage wasn't above taking revenge herself. Thundercracker was already inbound to their position from where she had entered the City, with Soundwave's alt-mode secured in his cockpit. She sent a burst of ' _apology_ ' to her frantic carrier then shuttered her side of the bond and turned to Skywarp.

“Take us there.”

They all clustered round him, grabbing on where they could. Skywarp braced himself, optics shuttered.

“Full disclosure – I've never warped this many before, dunno how far we're gonna get.”

His warp drive engaged with an audible whine, everything went black and Roddy felt that same twisting dislocation feeling of being moved against his will. It felt like an eternity but only a few seconds passed before they were in the world again, Autobot City looming in the distance now and the space bridge a faint smudge on the horizon.

Skywarp toppled forwards, looking like he was about to purge. Bits and pieces of him were fritzing in and out of reality. Starscream leant against him and rubbed at his plating blindly until he slowly solidified again.

“Fragging _Pit_ that hurt.”

But he was smiling as he straightened up, arms wrapped round his middle.

“Just so you know, TC is _pissed_. With all of us.”

Hot Rod winced at the understatement – he could guess from the cringing of the Stunticons that the Decepticon main comm frequency was blowing up with orders to return immediately, threats, and demands for explanations as the rest of them abandoned the _Victory_ to converge on their position.

But they were still far from the space-bridge and the Autobot army had less distance to cover to catch them, compared to the Decepticons. 

Motormaster transformed and flicked down the door to his trailer.

“Get in, Scre- _Uh_ I mean, Commander Starscream, sir.”

Starscream chuffed a vent cycle: if his vocaliser or comms weren't destroyed he'd be giving them an earful, younglings or not. He didn't restrain himself from smacking a hand against the large grey shape as Skywarp stumbled inside with him, Ravage joining them.

The other speedsters transformed and they set off, riding as a protective convoy around Motormaster. Deadlock ended up behind Hot Rod, and he kept a mirror on him – he didn't want to say anything out loud and risk offending him more, but he looked like he was struggling on the rough terrain more than he had before. The injuries must be getting worse again, with his self-repair unable to keep up.  
They hadn't gone far before Drag Strip piped up, shouting in his agitation. 

“Heads up, we got flyboys!”

Visible in the air behind them – and gaining quickly – were the Aerialbots.

“How close are we?”

“Not close enough.”

Even with a desperate burst of speed, the jets were coming up hand over fist. Motormaster hit his brakes abruptly, and Deadlock had to slew round to avoid hitting his trailer. The door popped open.

“Get them out. Quickly!”

Dead End and Drag Strip transformed and ran in, helping both Starscream and Skywarp to stand and hustling them out. Breakdown and Wildrider stood by Motormaster's cab, looking both nervous and excited.

Practically as soon as they'd cleared the ramp, he subspaced his trailer and transformed too. Leaving the Seekers with Ravage, the remaining Stunticons ran over to their leader as well.

“Finally finally _finally!_ ”

Beyond confused, Hot Rod and Deadlock switched back to root too, and prepared for a fight.

_'I don't understand, all the Aerialbots have to do to kill us is combi-'_

“- **Oh!** ”

Before an irritated Deadlock could ask what the hell they were doing, Motormaster roared out:

“Stunticons! Combine and form _Menasor!_ ”

They came together, transformation sequences running in sync as they formed legs, arms, torso, until their gestalt form towered above the others.

It had been a long long time, since Menasor had been fully herself rather than a presence in the back of her component parts' minds, and she bellowed in triumph and challenge, her voice like thunder.

“ **Superion!** ”

That wasn't something the Aerialbots could ignore, they were already combining in mid-air.

“Wait! We need to get to the space-bridge!”

Ravage swatted at a giant foot, trying to get the gestalt's attention. Menasor snarled – what she really wanted to do was punch Superion right in his stupid fucking face. Instead, she clipped her sword over her shoulder and chucked a nearby boulder at him instead, catching the other gestalt on the knee as he landed.

“Menasor coward!”

With Superion sufficiently enraged enough to forget he was faster in pieces rather than combined, Menasor swept the group on the ground up into one arm and took off, thrusters roaring.

“Why space-bridge? Megatron say-”

Starscream whapped her finger with a hand and pointed forwards imperiously. She obeyed, though her huge engine rumbled disapprovingly. Starscream was expecting her to ignore direct commands from her leader, her creator, and while ignoring commands when it suited them was something both she and the Stunticons apart were happy to do, the situation was hardly ideal.

It wasn't great for her passengers either. As he was temporarily forced to just wait, cradled in Menasor's palm, Hot Rod had time again to start fully processing what had happened. He was very much aware that had anything turned out even slightly differently – if Ravage hadn't found them, if Skywarp hadn't still had enough reserves to teleport everyone – he and Deadlock would be dead right now. 

And even though he was trying to ignore it, and even though it shouldn't matter and it was completely justified, someone _was_ dead right now, and he couldn't bring himself to relish the prospect of killing more people at the space-bridge. 

Events had slipped away from him, he'd thought his plan was a good one but it hadn't been, and now they were off the plan completely with Starscream in charge and unable to explain fully what he was intending to do. Which left Hot Rod's processor happy to pull up all the different ways he kept screwing up and go over them in detail. 

“-ou okay?”

A hand nudged against his shoulder and he realised he'd been tuned out of what was going on, and that someone was talking to him. Deadlock scowled at him.

“I _said_ , are you okay? Your hands are shaking.”

Hot Rod looked down. Huh. So they were. He clenched them into fists instead, to hide the trembling.

“I'm fine.”

Because how could he just say that no, actually he wasn't okay, when Starscream was so much worse off.

_'Get a hold of yourself damnit, this isn't about you.'_

But Deadlock didn't look like he believed that, and he lowered his voice so that the others wouldn't overhear.

“Have you ever killed anyone before?”

He tried to laugh it off – of course Deadlock was just trying to help, he didn't _know_ , he was attempting to be _nice_ – it came out more hysterical than he expected and he choked it off into a wheeze instead, curling in on himself. 

“Not- not deliberately. It's not- I'm _okay_.”

Deadlock didn't move closer to him, for which he was pathetically grateful.

“It's okay to... to not be okay. Turmoil used t-to tell me that, that at least we _cared_ more about it than they do.” He looked away. “Anyway, you handled yourself pretty well. For an Autobot.”

Roddy didn't respond, Deadlock didn't press him for one. Turmoil had been one of the names he'd seen, one of the family the 'Con had lost, and it was obvious that the loss was far too great and too recent for Deadlock to even remotely be able to cope with it. Hot Rod pretended not to hear his engine choke, and wondered how likely it was that Deadlock had agreed to go along with a stranger from a faction he hated, just because he thought the rescue would be essentially end up as suicide.

He looked over at where Starscream and Skywarp were sat, their hands held together tight enough to leave dents. At how much effort it was costing Starscream just to keep his wings held up at a normal angle despite the clamps weighting them down, at how Skywarp's plating was starting to shiver because his energy levels had dropped below being able to maintain his internal temperature and his frame was desperately trying to generate enough heat to run via friction instead. At Ravage, with siblings he'd never get the chance to meet, and Menasor who was starting to struggle to remain airborne because the Stunticons just didn't have the energy-reserves left to power such a massive frame properly.

And he pushed the last of his misgivings away as down below the space-bridge came into view. They weren't _Autobots_ , they were the _enemy_ and this was still a war. A war he wanted to help _win_.

And well, if he was being honest with himself, charging into the unknown like this to strike at the very core of his enemies' strength, sweeping through the air to face impossible odds... It was an exhilarating rush. And though his confidence had taken severe blows ever since the events that brought him to this place, it was bouncing back stronger than ever and he couldn't stop the grin on his face.

Yes if anything today had happened differently, he would be dead or at the mercy of Prime's 'hospitality', but it hadn't. They'd rescued Starscream, they'd _succeeded_ , and he'd hopefully gone some way to repaying the battered Seeker's kindness towards a perfect stranger.

There was laserfire behind them as Thundercracker caught up with Superion, flitted about his head to slow down or distract him. The other Decepticons approaching from the sea were visible too, as well as an oncoming dust cloud far behind that was the entire groundbound Autobot army. 

Menasor hit the ground running, staggered and crashed to one knee, scattering Grapple, Hoist, and other Autobots that Hot Rod didn't recognise, from around the space-bridge. She put them down as carefully as she could, almost before she collapsed back into the individual Stunticons. They struggled to keep their footing, down to their last reserves, and clustered round the Seekers at the space-bridge console – leaving Hot Rod and Deadlock to return fire on the few lingering drones.

They had to be helped to their feet – Skywarp's fuel level was in danger of redlining, and Starscream had pushed his frame far beyond its limits after centuries of forced immobility and deprivation. Ravage leapt onto the console as Breakdown guided Starscream over – she would have to input the override code that Starscream had acquired, given that he couldn't see the keyboard never mind the keys.

The space-bridge hummed to life and Roddy ran to join the others, catching Deadlock when he stumbled too. His hands were quickly brushed off, but not before he noticed the welding on Deadlock's left leg had opened again. 

There wasn't time for Motormaster to unsubspace his trailer again as he and the group of speedsters transformed back into alt, instead 'Warp and Star clambered up his sides and clung on as they drove into the active space-bridge. Ravage put a hasty lock on the controls then leapt after them, transforming mid-air to neatly fit through Roddy's open window and land on his passenger seat.

Then they were gone in a pillar of light that towered upwards towards the limits of the atmosphere and the vacuum beyond.

He thought he heard a snatch of Megatron's roared command to _hold the bridge_ , before it was lost in the blazing white vortex that consumed them and flung them in the direction of Cybertron, far far away from the Earth.


	7. No Better Plan, Than to Do or to Die

The space-bridge spat them out after what felt like an age or a minute, straight into Cybertron's Command Centre and a group of technicians.

Hot Rod didn't get a good look at which unlucky Autobots had gone to investigate the space-bridge activating outside of schedule, because Motormaster ran them over without pause and barrelled across the room to the far hallway. Roddy followed tightly after him alongside the others, either Wildrider or Drag Strip (or both) was blaring their horn tauntingly.

Their surroundings remained a blur, no one dared slow down to gawk – the rest of the Autobot staff were slow to recover from the surprise of a bunch of random Decepticons appearing in their midst but the few quick-witted among them had started to fire after the group.

There was an awfully familiar massive blue and white frame yelling orders and threats in a voice that would also be familiar if it wasn't so full of rage, but Hot Rod did not allow himself to listen, did not _ever_ want to see _this_ Ultra Magnus.

_'don't look don't look don't look'_

With nowhere to go but forwards, Motormaster put on a further burst of speed and the rest of the team matched him down the hall towards a pair of double-doors. Not one to be outdone, even in life-or-death situations, Drag Strip accelerated half up the wall to get past the rest of the group then shot forwards in a way that would have made his long-forgotten human driver proud. 

He reached the doors first – a lift – and opened them by simply ramming himself straight into the control panel. By some miracle that actually worked and the doors opened in time for Motormaster to reach them. The large truck had to transform as he slammed in, catching his pair of passengers and making sure he hit the wall first rather than they. The other Stunticons, Roddy and Deadlock were right in after him and each had to transform back to root-mode as well just to fit in the lift. 

Thankfully it had been built for multiple bots of Ultra Magnus' size, but even them it was a squeeze when Drag Strip slid in last, giving the door panel another smack as he did so. The doors closed again on the chasing Autobots and the lift jolted into life, heading downwards. 

Ravage had leapt out of Roddy's alt-mode as he had transformed back to get in the lift, and now she was awkwardly perched halfway between his shoulder and Breakdown's with such an aggravated expression that only a cat could have, claws dug in to keep her balance. 

“Now where? Starscream?”

It really wasn't the time or the place but Hot Rod had to fight to keep a straight face – the tone was almost exactly the same as Arcee when she was having to be the only responsible adult around. 

Starscream didn't respond immediately, slumped against Motormaster's front where the gestalt-leader was gingerly supporting him upright next to Skywarp. He looked in roughly the direction of the question, wrecked optics clicking round, and gestured downwards sharply with a fist then kicked a heel against the floor.

After he'd passed each Seeker to Dead End and (after considering Wildrider and Drag Strip's responsible capabilities) Deadlock, Motormaster carefully pulled out his broadsword.

“Jam the lift.”

It ground to a halt between floors, people shuffling as much out of the way as they could in the cramped space to give Motormaster enough room to swing. He stabbed downwards, cut through the floor of the lift to make an exit, and widened it by kicking the fractured plates out of the sides of the hole.

When it was big enough for him to fit through he dropped down and kicked on his thrusters, hovering while Starscream was carefully passed to him. Skywarp jumped down after, though he had to grab onto Motormaster's arm for support when his own thrusters sputtered, fuel levels already at critical.

Next came Breakdown and Dead End, each carrying Hot Rod and Deadlock. Ravage dropped neatly into Roddy's outstretched palm as a tape to lessen the weight, and lastly Drag Strip and Wildrider shot down past them to take point as they were unencumbered.

“What floor?”

Starscream pointed down again then held up first two fingers, then one, then seven. He made a chopping motion with his other hand.

“Right. You two get ready to bust the door.”

Then they were all dropping downwards in free-fall, with only occasional bursts from their anti-gravs to check their speed. It was exhilarating, Hot Rod had never felt such a rush before. Maybe when they got back, he'd ask Soundwave about getting his own pair. On the other side of the shaft Deadlock didn't look like he agreed – his optics were screwed tightly closed as he clung onto Dead End, hating the sensation of vertigo.

The door to the next floor down went past, then the next and the next, and they kept descending deeper. It felt like the entire length of the tower and then some, before the floor marked 217 came into view.

The group paused briefly, Hot Rod got ready to give any covering fire as necessary, then Wildrider flung himself forwards with his anti-gravs and kicked in the lift-shaft door with a loud yell, Drag Strip hot on his heels and ready to fight.

The mechs within the room were taken completely off-guard as the Stunticons burst through the door, and many were shot in the back before they could react. Hot Rod and Deadlock joined in dealing with the rest but it didn't take long for all the Autobots in the room to be taken down. These were scientists, not soldiers, and there were no guards - evidently an attack coming from within the fortress via the space-bridge had never been considered or planned for.

While the wounded were being dispatched, Hot Rod went back to the door instead to help Motormaster with the Seekers, both of whom were stubbornly trying to stand unaided. Shooting back at someone who was shooting at you was one thing, snuffing a spark while being begged for mercy was something else, but he didn't voice his doubts. Not with the evidence for the Autobots' lack of any mercy for their own prisoners carved into Starscream's frame.

Once the last Autobot in the room was dead, and the adrenaline had worn off a bit, he had time to process his surroundings and it simply confirmed his decision.

The room was full of Sparks – containment tube after containment tube crammed onto floor-to-ceiling racks running the length of the room like a library of souls.

It was horrific. 

And Hot Rod wasn't the only one to feel ill as they moved further towards the centre – Breakdown looked like he was about to purge even with Dead End's hand on his shoulder. Even Wildrider and Drag Strip's enthusiasm had finally met its match. They kept the Seekers in the middle of the group, half-expecting some vengeful Empty frame to suddenly lurch out at them from the shadows.

Starscream didn't look bothered by it, but Starscream couldn't actually see how bad it was past what he already knew of the place, and had probably had his capacity for surprise at the depths of Autobot cruelty long beaten out of him. In any case he guided them unerringly to the huge command console in the middle of the room.

Motormaster deposited both him and Skywarp there – 'Warp slumped to the floor with an arm wrapped round Starscream's leg, still fighting off rapidly approaching stasis-lock, while Starscream remained standing though he had to lean forwards against the controls to keep his balance. Ravage hoped up onto it as well and slotted her alt-mode into the data storage port available.

The power hummed back on out of stand-by, the cables running out of the racks lighting up as the computer drew more power from the Sparks. It was, in effect, a massive battery powering the entire building and beyond – Cybertron's 'renewable' power source for the Autobot Empire.

While they waited for Starscream to collect himself and the last dregs of his strength, Hot Rod tried not to keep looking around at how many of the Sparks were faded and old, struggled to not think about how long all these people had been trapped and used like this, about who they used to be.

_'What happened to this world to make it so much different, so much **worse...** '_

Eventually Starscream straightened a little and ran his fingers over the keyboard. Much like he had with the space-bridge control, he was touch-typing with Ravage correcting the errors he couldn't see.

Peoples' faces began to flick across the screen, mugshots of captured Decepticons or convicts, each one with an Autobot Detention Centre ID number corresponding to a Spark in the room. It stopped on a specific mech – Hot Rod didn't recognise him and it looked like none of the Stunticons did either – he had a blastmask similar to Soundwave, though he was a different shade of blue and a pair of turrets jutted from his back to frame his head.

Starscream gestured vaguely behind himself, obviously expecting them to understand what he meant them to do, and began queuing up more files on the screen.

Motormaster scowled up at them with folded arms.

“This like a prison or something?”

“I th-think we get th-those ones out?”

Breakdown had crept closer to him, close enough he might as well be considered clinging to his older brother. Motormaster glanced down at him, then looked back at the rest of the group, assessing how they were doing in the way Megatron had taught him that a good leader should.

Breakdown, never confident even on a good day, looked on the verge of living up to his name. Drag Strip was managing a braver front but still jittery. While Dead End seemed more impassive, it was obvious through the gestalt-bond he was just internalising what they'd seen. As for Wildrider, the most mentally unstable person present, he was going to need more careful supervision than usual.

“Breakdown, I want you to stay here and make sure nothing happens to Starscream. Drag Strip, Dead End, look for wherever they're keeping the frames. 'Rider, you're with me.”

He wasn't so sure about Hot Rod, didn't know Deadlock at all or much like him either, but they'd managed to make a barricade that had held up against Sideswipe for longer than a few seconds so, that was something?

“You two, keep an eye on the door for when the Autobots get here.”

They exchanged glances, and Hot Rod half-expected Deadlock to argue back again at being told what to do, but surprisingly he went back to the door with only a bit of a grimace.

There wasn't much they could do, really, except prop the door that had been kicked out of its frame across the gap in the doorway and shift some of the Autobots' frames against it to help hold it steady, providing some form of cover in the event of a firefight, but it wouldn't hold a determined group out.

Roddy craned his neck out to peer back up the shaft over their makeshift barricade. The Autobots much have been right behind them, or so he'd assumed.

So where were they?

Deadlock must have been thinking along similar lines, because they both spoke at once.

“Don't you think-”

“-this is too easy?”

Roddy was the first to look away, a twitchy spoiler-tip betraying his nerves.

“No way they knew we were coming here, right? Probably just caught them off-guard.”

Deadlock shrugged in response, turning to watch what was happening in the room.

Motormaster had just come back out of a side room holding an unconscious Seeker and looking extremely disturbed. He set her down carefully next to Skywarp, under the watchful eye of Breakdown.

“There's a backroom, got a bunch of operating tables, a smelter, and uh, this is the only one still functionin'...”

Starscream didn't really acknowledge it, though he did stumble a bit when Skywarp shifted to make room, having been leaning on his trinemate as a crutch more than he let on.

They had inadvertently arrived in the nick of time to prevent her spark from being harvested and her frame recycled. She was already rebooting, battle-protocols surging to full strength until Skywarp got her attention and started quietly explaining. Hot Rod couldn't hear what they were saying from across the room, but he could tell when Slipstream noticed Starscream's appearance from the look on her face.

A sudden shriek heralded the discovery of the first of the sparkless frames, and Drag Strip shot backwards away from a storage unit so fast he nearly back-pedalled straight up the shelves behind him.

“It grabbed me! It fucking _moved_ I swear!”

Switching Wildrider and Drag Strip to looking for the right Spark for the mech Starscream wanted, Motormaster sifted through the haphazard pile for the matching frame and dragged it back over to the Seekers at the console. 

Curious in spite of how gruesome it was, Roddy wanted to move closer too but he was unwilling to leave his watch by the door in case of ambush, and also on the basis that someone imprisoned like this may react badly if they woke up to someone wearing the faction badge of the people who'd done this to them.

Carefully and with both hands, Wildrider opened the containment tube and held it to the open spark-chamber. Everyone watched as the spark travelled back into its frame, barely daring to vent in case it somehow disturbed the reintegration. 

The muted colours of the frame, only just above fully-grey, began solidifying again as long-sleeping systems came back online. He heaved himself up before anyone could offer a hand up, initially ready for combat before he registered the others in view. 

The shocked flare of his visor could be seen across the room as he took in Starscream's appearance, the mech visibly pulling himself together into some kind of professional facade with a salute.

“Commander.”

His rigid professionalism was immediately ruined by Skywarp's weak attempt at fingerguns and a slurred “'Sup, Ons.” 'Warp sounded like he was overcharged, but it was actually the lack of fuel that had caught up with him and started to shut down his higher processor functions.

Other than rapping Skywarp on the helm with his knuckles, Starscream ignored them as he pulled more files onto the screen. Even though he was still disorientated, Onslaught stepped over to join him at the console, having recognised the displayed images of the rest of his team.

Explanations and proper greetings could come later, the direness of the situation was readily apparent and Onslaught was already considering their escape options. His own tactical systems must have given him an answer because he stepped in to assist Dead End in getting the right spark into a rotary frame, while simultaneously blocking a groggy Vortex from tearing the Stunticon's arm off when he came online.

“'Tex, get the door.”

The rotary nodded as his leader pulled him up, happy to let Onslaught handle the bigger picture, and headed over towards the door to the lift shaft, _and_ Deadlock and Hot Rod.

On his approach, he glanced at the pair with interest, and did a double-take on seeing Hot Rod's insignia. The blades on his back twitched and though he too had a blast-mask, an eager cruelty was audible in his voice as he called out loudly.

“Looks like you missed an Autobot-”

There was a brief awkward scuffle as both Hot Rod and Deadlock simultaneously tried to step protectively in front of the other, that resulted in Deadlock with his arm braced on Hot Rod's shoulder when his bleeding leg wobbled, snarling up at the taller mech.

“Go suck slag.”

Quicker than either could process, Vortex had his fist round Deadlock's throat and slammed him backwards into the wall. Roddy yelped and tried to break his grip.

“Who do you think you are, talking back to me, fragging _grunt_.”

“Get off him!”

Onslaught yelled over again, his exasperation plain that his teammate had been out of confinement for all of two minutes and was picking fights with their rescuers.

“ _Vortex_. The _door_.”

Deadlock was unceremoniously dropped and Vortex stormed past without further comment, pushed parts of their barricade away so that he could fiddle with the door panel. Deciding that they would be more useful helping with sorting through the frames, and _away_ from Vortex, Hot Rod helped Deadlock back to his feet and slung an arm back over his shoulder to help him stand.

Whereas the Deadlock of maybe only two hours ago might have rejected it, or at least grumbled about it, now he silently accepted the support and slumped tiredly against Roddy's shoulder in an attempt to keep as much weight off of his injured leg as possible. 

Roddy moved them over towards the frames that were left once the Stunticons had picked the rest of the Combaticons out of the pile, talking quietly to him on the way.

“Hey, I know I don't look it, but I can fight for myself. You keep throwing yourself at people while you're already injured, you might get offlined.”

Deadlock didn't sound that bothered, though he kept his gaze low rather than looking at him, shrugging with his free arm.

“Eh, not gonna lie, I didn't expect to get this far.”

There wasn't much he could say in response to that, other than a quiet “oh”. He'd admitted it so casually, he'd expected to die but came anyway, it made Hot Rod wonder if that was the real reason Deadlock had been so easily persuaded – his motivation not about friendship or rescuing, or even revenge, just an excuse to end it without the shame of weakness attached to taking his own life.

_'He did lose his whole team in that crash... I don't know what I'd do if that had been my friends...'_

Grateful for the excuse of inspecting the frames to change the subject, Roddy privately vowed to keep a close eye on Deadlock if they did survive this, in hope he could help curb any other self-destructive behaviour. The company of friends healed most wounds, Kup used to say.

“More Seekers. Do you think they're a trine or just categorised by frame-type?”

Maybe Deadlock had realised he'd started to grow more friendly towards Hot Rod, that his loner facade was starting to slip, because he just moved away to lean against the shelving instead, arms folded.

“Who cares, they all look the same anyway.”

Hot Rod let it slide, even though the stereotype was a false one – even between Skywarp and Thundercracker he'd noticed differences in their frame builds. Subtle ones, but still. Although admittedly, these three _did_ actually look almost identical.

Just like the Combaticons had been, each frame was tagged with an ID code that corresponded with the code for the tube its spark was in and Roddy started going down the rows looking for the right one.

“ADC-R94DB... R95DB, R96DB, R97DB... oh here - ADC-R98DB-1a. I guess this Mags must be super organised too...”

He pulled the tube out, disconnecting it from the power grid. It flickered weakly under the brighter lights of the room – worried that it might burn out so close to rescue, Hot Rod hurried back with it as fast as he could without jostling it further. While he'd been searching, Deadlock had managed to prise the semi-shut spark-chamber on the frame back open with his gaze as averted as possible – often the front-liner had killed an enemy by tearing out their spark but this felt far more intrusive somehow.

Ignoring the commotion behind them as Brawl hoisted an exhausted Swindle up on his shoulders triumphantly, and the Stunticons broke into more rooms in hopes of finding more of the missing frames, Hot Rod un-capped the tube and gently tapped the spark down into its chamber, his own frame still running hotter than normal out of simple embarrassment – sparks were supposed to be _private_ damnit!

The frame flushed a lighter and lighter green, the Seeker powered up, and in reaction to two empty trine-bonds and an unknown Autobot crouched over him, he kicked Hot Rod straight in the chassis. 

In the depths of his panic he wasn't listening to anything the pair said, clawing at them while they tried to pin him back down again. The roar of thrusters heralded Slipstream's arrival and she hit the other Seeker mid-flight, knocking him back into the side of the shelving and forcing him down.

“Off! Get off get off GET _OFF-_ ”

“Get the other two idiots up!” She yelled over her shoulder at Roddy and Deadlock, who were already doing just that, and slammed Acid Storm's head back down against the floor when he tried to buck her off, snarling at him under her breath “This is why people don't bond anymore!”

The pair of sparks were easier to find – they were slotted in next to their trine-mate – and they were quickly able to get the next Seeker up, although this time with Hot Rod hanging back behind Deadlock to obscure his faction badge a little. Seeing that, Acid Storm struggled towards them again, driven by instinct and broken bonds.

“Nova! Nova Nova Nova-”

The yellow Seeker didn't react so badly when he booted up, instead bolting upright and grabbing onto Deadlock's forearm.

“The transports! Did the transports make it?!”

He broke off, staring round at their surroundings and realising they were no longer at the Hydrax Space Port. “What?”

Once he started thinking more rationally, and Slipstream let go of him, Acid Storm hurried over to reassure himself his mate was as unharmed as possible. The others moved back to give them space, Roddy keeping his arms crossed over his chest.

“Where are we? Did we win?”

Realising what they were talking about – the long-ago demoralising retreat from Cybertron by the remnants of the Decepticons after no contact for thousands of years from the _Nemesis_ and her crew, Deadlock held his hand out.

“Starboard gunner of the _Annex_. Turmoil's crew. Most of us got out, yeah.”

Nova Storm gripped it and pulled himself up with a thankful smile.

“How long were we out? Few weeks?”

“Something like that...”

Hot Rod picked up the last spark while they were talking and, with Slipstream's help, got it back into the last frame. With both his bond-mates online already, Ion Storm booted up with only the 'normal' level of panic caused by the last thing he remembered was being strapped to a table by Autobots. 

To give the three some short privacy after their long imprisonment, they moved away back to the rest of the group in the centre of the room. Even though Deadlock's limp was getting worse, this time he refused help and Hot Rod hoped it was only because he didn't want to look weak in front of so many other people, and not because he still didn't actually _like_ Hot Rod.

It seemed that while they'd been helping the Rainmakers, everyone else had started an argument with Starscream and another empty frame at the centre of it. Drag Strip was holding another containment tube (presumably belonging to that frame) – it was hard for Hot Rod to see because he was somewhat shielded by Wildrider and Dead End but the spark inside looked oddly green.

Onslaught was talking to Starscream in low, hurried tones, trying to convince him of something while Blast Off and Swindle blocked the three Stunticons from reaching the frame with the spark and Brawl faced off against Motormaster – and it was their argument that was loud enough to drown out Onslaught's voice. 

“And since when did we start letting youngsters and, and-” he caught sight of Hot Rod rejoining the other Stunticons “-and _Autobots_ into our ranks!”

“One, that's _my_ Autobot, Two, he's _not_ an Autobot _anyway_ , and Three, _fuck off!_ ” 

Brawl might not have understood the human words at the end, but he knew an insult when he heard one and he took a swing at the semi. While they shoved at each other, and a newly freed Octane tried to break it up, Hot Rod snuck round to Breakdown, squeezing his shoulder gently to help him stave off a minor panic-attack, and whispered “What's going on?”

Breakdown didn't turn to look at him, staring desperately at the fight he couldn't help with, but he whispered back: “W-we found this guy, I don't know who it is but it's the last- the last frame left and they won't let us h-help and I don't know why-”

His patience with Onslaught finally lost, Starscream just stepped past him instead, but Onslaught also didn't let go of the argument and hurried after him. 

“Commander this is not a good idea-!”

Ravage ejected back out of the console and joined the Seeker, though none of the Combaticons looked surprised to see one of Soundwave's cassettes. Roddy expected her to also speak up and take command like she had done in Autobot City but instead Ravage seemed content to silently watch while Starscream handled it.

Caught fighting like sparklings, Motormaster and Brawl grudgingly backed away from each other. Without the support of the console to lean against, Starscream was struggling to remain standing but that didn't stop him from angrily aiming a kick at the blur in his vision that was probably Brawl, with a non-stop torrent of static tumbling from his wrecked vocaliser that was probably a rant of being surrounded by idiots.

Onslaught tried one last time to change his mind, hands hovering carefully near Starscream's elbow in case he tripped again.

“He's unstable, we don't know how badly he'll react while booting up, and any more time wasted is more time the Autobots have to prepare. They know that space-bridge is the only way we have of escaping, that's where they'll be waiting for us!”

His protests fell on deaf ears – Starscream had already decided, even before the Combaticons were pulled back online, exactly what he was going to do and how he was going to do it, and the only thing he was going to let get in his way was the fact that many of the sparks of mechs he'd intended to free as well no longer had an intact frame. He certainly wasn't leaving anyone behind that could fight, no matter who they were.

With the Combaticons stood down, the Stunticons were free to reach the frame they'd found – Drag Strip actually had to climb up onto its chest to reach the spark-chamber with Dead End giving him a boost up. Wildrider was too busy flipping Brawl off while the tank wasn't looking, to help.

The argument this mech had caused was worrying though, Hot Rod braced himself though for what exactly he wasn't sure. Whoever this 'Con was, he must be really dangerous, but Roddy couldn't think of anyone he'd heard of that it could be – all the really dangerous Decepticons he knew of were the ones who'd travelled to Earth. Maybe it was just another difference between the two realities.

It was taking a lot longer for this spark to reintegrate, almost a full minute before his full colour returned and he rose up to his full height. Unlike the others, there was no visible panic or disorientation, instead he looked rather calm.

The mech stretched, stiff shoulder-plating popping and resettling. He was big, as big as Ultra Magnus (maybe bigger), big enough to crush Starscream in one hand. But as he looked down at the Decepticon Air Commander and took in his appearance, his smile was broad.

“Hello Starscream.”

Surrounded by the other Decepticons, all of them watching him warily, there surely wasn't any way he could be a threat, but still Hot Rod's plating prickled. He tried to push back his trepidation – these were the _good guys_ , that was _how it worked_. But even here, Overlord had always liked unnerving people. He was scanning the crowd now, only interested in the absence of one person.

“I see Megatron did not deign to come himself.”

Even through the pain of the clamps, Starscream forced his wings to flick together in an exaggerated motion that he knew Overlord would recognise, and was also extremely rude. It only made Overlord laugh, arms raised in a grand gesture.

“Come on then, let us repay them in kind what has been done to us.”

It was slightly ruined by Breakdown piping up from where he was hiding behind Roddy, his stammer exacerbated by the weight of so many people turning to look at him.

“W-what about th-the rest of them?”

He had a point – excluding Slipstream who hadn't lost her spark to start with, they had found the frames for ten people – the Combaticons, the Rainmaker trine, Octane, and Overlord himself. But it was apparent that the Autobots had only kept the frames of those they felt might have further use either for the war effort or experimentation – a gestalt team, outliers, triple-changers. So there were thousands of sparks with no frames and not much there could be done about it.

“But we _can't_ just leave them like this, right?”

The thought that they might do just that wasn't helping Hot Rod's own anxiety either, and that was what made him speak up too even though actually he'd really prefer all the rather more aggressive newcomers didn't notice him until Megatron had had a chance to sort the whole 'actually from an alternate universe' _thing_ out with them.

Starscream snapped his fingers to regain everyone's attention, then held his arms out, fingers interlaced then slowly moving outwards in a deliberate gesture. Onslaught immediately caught onto his meaning, and the deeper implications of it.

“That would work, if we have something to provide the initial charge then when the sparks start igniting it will cause a chain explosion. ”

That hadn't been what Roddy had meant as a solution to the problem, he had been holding out hope that somehow the rest of the people could still be freed. But if most of them were Decepticons, maybe that was what they'd prefer.

_'Better dead than trapped like this. I guess...'_

Regardless, they had far overstayed their welcome on Cybertron now. Even though it had perhaps only been around twenty minutes, that was twenty minutes for Ultra Magnus to counter them, and twenty minutes for Megatron and the others on Earth to prevent the space-bridge from being shut down or retaken by the other Autobots. 

Skywarp had finally hit stasis-lock at some point, the drain of multiple teleports with multiple people having caught up with him. The smaller, more high-energy framed Stunticons looked ready to drop too – forming Menasor on not enough fuel was affecting them badly. But the worst among them was of course Starscream, and if the others were running on fumes then the frame of the Decepticon Second in Command must right now be fuelled solely by pure spite.

The severity of the situation was quickly underscored when as Starscream began to make his way back to the doorway into the liftshaft, his frame crashed mid-step and his limbs locked up. Everyone panicked, clustered round him but not knowing how to help.

“He's overheating!”

“I think his spark's destabilising-”

“Give him space!”

Well-meaning but unhelpful the other Seekers backed off worriedly, while Onslaught kept him from falling over as his legs buckled. Starscream's fingers were digging hard into Onslaught's forearms, hard enough for pink droplets of energon to well up near the thinner plating at his elbow. His face was frozen in a snarl as his spark visibly thrashed in its chamber, slowly slowing again as he forced his frame back under control.

Over his head people were exchanging anxious glances, but Overlord was the only one brave enough to suggest the obvious.

“Carry him if you have to. We're going to have to fight our way out and like this he's a hindrance.”

Starscream didn't take the insult well, he growled something in automatic response that came out as nothing but a shriek of static. But he also understood the reasoning behind it and didn't resist when Onslaught gingerly picked him up in his arms, holding him as though he were made of glass.

Acid Storm was already carrying Skywarp's unconscious frame, the other two Rainmakers flanking them protectively, and Hot Rod helped Deadlock back to his feet as the group got ready to move. The Stunticons were in front, joining Overlord by the door, and the pair went to stand with them – those from Earth were the only ones with weaponry and were going to have to drive the Autobots back enough for the unarmed or injured members in the group to get through.

As they started moving back up the lift-shaft – mecha with thrusters or anti-grav mods carrying those without in a living chain – Vortex was the only left in the Autobot Detention Centre, still feverishly trying to build a bomb out of a door panel.

Up, up, up. It felt much faster than descending had done, but Roddy's nerves were giving way once more to sheer exhilaration. Failure was not an option. They were _going_ to get back through the bridge, they were _going_ to _win_. They had so many people, they would almost double the numbers of 'Cons on Earth. They had Starscream, and what's more, they had _hope_.

Overlord led the way as they ascended and he was first to reach the remnants of the lift itself back where they'd left it. He didn't need to slow down to tear it to pieces to make way for the others, though they had to duck the falling chunks of metal.

A feeling almost like impatience was taking hold in Roddy's spark. That pulling, tugging feeling was back again, he was starting to get used to it. Whatever it was, it hadn't steered him wrong yet but it was sending an urgent _need_ through his frame to move, to _go forward_.

He wanted to _fight_ , a new fierceness bubbling its way up from deep within himself, he wanted to defeat this false Ultra Magnus, if only to prove to himself that they _were_ false, that the _real_ Ultra Magnus would _not ever_ be like _this_.

There were no Autobots in the corridor leading from the command room to the lift shaft, but the doors were open at the far end and as they charged towards them they were met with a hail of laserfire. That didn't slow Overlord down either and he hit the barricade like a battering ram, laughing as he went.

Right on his heels were the Stunticons and Hot Rod. Deadlock was unable to keep up with them thanks to his injuries and he was hanging back alongside Slipstream to help form a line of defence between them and the Combaticon formation around Starscream, Skywarp, and those helping to carry them.

Even so they caught up quickly, forming a wedge of bodies to force further into the room, and Hot Rod quickly came face to face with-

"Ultra Magnus!" Overlord spread his arms wide, as though greeting an old friend.

“Do not let them escape!”

The command was snarled out to the Autobot guards trying to push the Decepticons back through the door and away from the space-bridge, even while Ultra Magnus waded through his own troops to face Overlord head-on.

They fought like Megatron and Prime did – with no heed for those around them. 

Motormaster was battering his way through around the outsides of the room to avoid the brawl in the centre, his brothers guarding his flank, Hot Rod followed in his wake to provide covering fire and to keep the path clear for the others. Ravage came after him, easily darting in and out between the feet of those fighting, tripping Autobots as she went and always keeping watch on Soundwave's errant 'Autobot'.

He got his first clear view of Cybertron's end of the space-bridge – it was still online against impossible odds. The force on Earth must be holding out, if they could just make it to the portal they could swing the tide of not only that battle but potentially the whole war.

Some of the Autobots in front of them were starting to break ranks – they might not have ever fought in a real battle before, and they were outmatched by the ferocity of those fighting for their lives. Many seemed more afraid of Ultra Magnus rather than anything else.

There was the whirring of rotors as Vortex shot into the room, ploughing straight into the guards trying to cut off Onslaught and Starscream from the rest of the group and tearing into them. Onslaught caught them in the back as they were knocked off-balance, tearing off limbs and yelling as he did so.

“How much time left?”

“Not enough!”

Almost as soon as Vortex answered, there was a muffled noise and the floor shuddered underfoot. The room paused in their fighting momentarily, glancing at each other. Another explosion, louder this time, and the whole tower lurched to one side. Aware their time had just run out (and knowing that the tower was about to come crashing down), the Decepticons made one last charge for the bridge.

Hot Rod turned back to shoot behind him at any Autobot also trying to get to the bridge – the last thing they needed was more Autobots on Earth – when he was pushed into the bridge by the group of Seekers. The last thing he saw was Ultra Magnus fighting towards the space-bridge and the only escape point from the room, and Overlord hauling him backwards. Then there were other frames bumping into his, a hand on his arm pulling him through, and the light of the bridge overtook his vision once more.

Though he knew he was clinging to Wildrider and Deadlock's frames he couldn't feel anything, couldn't _see_ anything except white, a lifetime of falling stretched into mere seconds and then they were out, stumbling on Earth's soil.

They came out of the bridge straight into another firefight, barely avoiding running into Megatron's back.

He was absolutely incensed and as he turned around he looked exactly like the _other_ Megatron, so much so that Hot Rod flinched back momentarily to duck behind Breakdown.

“ _Motormaster!_ I thought _you_ at least would be _responsible enough_ not to-”

Megatron broke off mid-tirade, jaw dropping – behind them Bruticus thundered through the space-bridge, stepped over the Decepticons with ease and charged the Autobot line. Riding high on the gestalt's shoulder was Starscream, frame stiff with unbroken pride.

Caught off-guard, the Autobots begain to scatter – and Megatron had never, in any reality, been one to let an opportunity pass unseized.

“Push them back!”

The space-bridge snapped shut on the heels of the other Seekers and Octane, the other end on Cybertron now fully destroyed – there would be no escape now for those left behind. The few Autobot workers and soldiers that had also jumped through it out of desperation now found themselves surrounded by Decepticons and were swiftly put down.

Hot Rod sprinted forwards towards the Autobots alongside every Decepticon still mobile. If he got to the front line first, he'd decided, he could try to draw their fire and if they were shooting at him they weren't shooting at anyone _important_.

Three of the minibots were in front of him – two changed directions to intercept him while the other just kept running. Heat from a laser bolt washed over his shoulder and struck Gears in the head, the impact was enough to knock the smaller frame onto his back, and Roddy spared a glance behind himself to see Astrotrain firing his high-powered rifle from where he was slumped half against the containment wall of the space-bridge, while using his own frame as a shield for the Constructicons while they worked on his shredded open leg.

The unexpected fire made Windcharger swerve round, torn between fighting and escape. It didn't look like any orders had been given yet to rally them – many of the Autobots were scattering on realisation that they were facing Decepticons that weren't going to retreat this time.

With the minibots fleeing, Hot Rod had a brief moment to glance at the rest of the battle. Though Superion was going toe to toe with Bruticus, he was hopelessly outmatched by the older gestalt – Superion had never in his existence faced a combiner team with such cohesion while together and the Aerialbots could not compete with Onslaught's iron-willed control over Bruticus' frame. It wasn't long before they split apart and fled instead in the direction of Autobot City. 

_'This can't last, they have to see they outnumber us!'_

He switched directions and started sprinting again, aiming for the small outcropping on which Optimus Prime stood. He wasn't sure what he was going to do when he got there, even now he didn't think he could shoot at Optimus, even the _wrong_ Optimus. 

Prowl was there too, at his Prime's side, and even though the rest of the Autobots were breaking now, it hadn't yet turned into a full-scale retreat. It wouldn't do either, Roddy knew Prowl would be aware of their still-superior numbers and he knew the tactician _must_ be organising a counter-attack over comms or something. Someone had to take Prowl down permanently if the Decepticons were to have any hope of wining the fight, let alone the war.

But before Roddy managed to get anywhere near them, the decision was made for him. With half his forces suddenly routed, a fresh 'Con gestalt and force of Seekers arriving like a miracle out of nowhere, the loss of his prisoner-turned-blackmail, and now faced with Megatron bearing down on him like the wrath of Mortilus, Prime was too angry to think rationally and instead lashed out at the first blameable person in reach. He struck Prowl to the ground mid-command with one blow, and if Prowl said anything in protest it was too quiet for Hot Rod to hear.

“This is YOUR FAULT you incompetent _oaf!_ Autobots, retreat!”

With that, Prime transformed and roared away, leaving the rest of them to pick themselves up and follow. No Autobot stopped to help another – if they slowed down at all the Decepticons would catch up with them in the air, and everyone on both sides knew no one was taking prisoners alive any more.

Not every Autobot was smart enough to leave immediately though.

“ _ **YOU!**_ ”

Though the sight of him shot terror through his spark, Hot Rod readied himself – he was sure he could at least hold his own against Sideswipe in close-combat, he used to wrestle and spar with Springer all the time and Springer was much bigger than either of the Twins, it would be fine-

Sideswipe had him flat on his back in seconds and slammed his fist straight into his face. Roddy only managed to prevent it from shattering an optical lens by twisting desperately to take the blow on the side of his head instead, but although he struggled he couldn't get out from where he was being pinned to the ground underneath Sideswipe. 

“You made me look like a _fool!_ ”

Thankfully it wasn't going unnoticed: Slipstream dropped down on top of both of them and tore him off, Ion Storm and Frenzy close behind her. Aware that he was outnumbered and close to being surrounded, Sideswipe rolled backwards to get back on his feet, still snarling.

“Don't think I won't remember your face!”

With that Sideswipe turned, folded into alt-mode, and shot away.

Hauled back on his feet by Ion, Hot Rod followed them back to the space-bridge where the rest were regrouping, Frenzy sticking so close behind him he kept almost treading on his heels.

They reached the group as Bruticus limped back to Megatron – Swindle's smaller frame having been affected the most by their imprisonment – and the gestalt carefully went down on one knee to lift Starscream down from his perch on their shoulder. His frame was trembling involuntarily now, but he made himself stand anyway, rejecting their offer of support – he wouldn't face Megatron under anything but his own power.

Face to face with his Second again after so long and unsure of where would be a safe place to touch his brutalised frame, Megatron settled for the top of a shoulder vent.

“Starscream, I'm-”

At that, the Seeker clamped a hand over his leader's mouth to prevent him from continuing. Megatron didn't stop him, even as Starscream's splintered clawtips pricked his cheeks.

The shaking was getting more violent now and though he couldn't see Megatron properly, Starscream knew he was there, knew that right behind was Thundercracker, carrying Skywarp and being careful not to crowd his wings. Knew that he was finally safe enough he could let those he trusted to defend him to do so-

He collapsed forwards into Megatron's arms, who caught him with a panicked tightness enough to hurt but the Seeker was already unconscious.

“Starscream if you give up now after all this so help me- _**HOOK!**_ ”

The medic was already sprinting over even before he was called, and desperately examined Starscream's frame as well as he was able without built-in scanners. The rest of them made a ring around the group as well as the other wounded, bristling with weapons just in case the Autobots came back. But the seriousness of the situation didn't stop those from the _Victory_ calling out to friends they'd thought dead, and vice versa. 

Still cradling Starscream with a fierce possessiveness, Megatron called for silence above the quiet hubbub.

“I suspect our existence has just stopped being amusing – when they come for us they'll come in force so we'd best not be where they expect us to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long and its garbage and it doesn't have sufficient Hot Rod
> 
> This is not abandoned or on hiatus BUT I can't guarantee when updates will happen or how long it will take
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone for sticking around for this, it is honestly so heartening to know that people actually like this because I hate everything I write ever, haha


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